Former Attorney General Eric Holder sat down with MSNBC’s Symone Sanders-Townsend for his first interview since he was selected to lead Vice President Kamala Harris‘ vice presidential vetting process.
Wednesday’s interview was part of an MSNBC Live event at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Holder joined two-time Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, MSNBC Live co-host and creative director Luke Russert, and co-host of “The Weekend” Symone Sanders-Townsend for a conversation focused on voting and the 2024 election.
Holder pulled back the curtain on Harris’ vetting process and explained how it compared to his previous experience screening running mates for former President Barack Obama in 2008: “We had about two and a half, three months to do that. This one took 15 days.”
They worked around the clock, whittling down a list of about 11 candidates to Harris’ final pick, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Holder said he convened a team of about 70 lawyers from his firm, Covington & Burling, to help with the effort. According to the former attorney general, they worked around the clock, whittling down a list of about 11 candidates to Harris’ final pick, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Holder said his team’s research involved watching hours of videos of the candidates, telling Sanders-Townsend he looked at more videos than he’s ever seen in his life. “My YouTube hours are off the charts now,” he said.
Holder admitted there were some positives about the accelerated timeline. “It was daunting, but the time was so short that you didn’t have time to get too anxious about it,” he said. “It was only at the conclusion that you said, ‘I hope we got everything.’ And I think we did.”
Holder said it helped that Harris had “the great ability to pick from a wide range of really qualified people.”
When asked why the governor ultimately got the job, Holder explained it came down to Walz’s accomplishments and his chemistry with Harris. He said the pair “just kind of clicked.” As for his experience, Holder ticked through the governor’s resume, noting his time in the military, in Congress and his tenure as a teacher. In the end, Holder said he was confident Walz would be “a great vice president.” During the conversation, Sanders-Townsend also asked the former attorney general about rumors he could join a possible Harris administration as her chief of staff. But Holder quickly shut the speculation down, “I’ve had a good career in government and I’m pretty satisfied with the things I’ve done.” He then promised to do everything in his power to “make sure that, in fact, Kamala Harris will pick a White House chief of staff.”
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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