Report: Holder likely to stay on as attorney general one more year

Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to stay on in President Obama's second term, but likely only "for about a year" according to a report from Fox News.

The report says the president asked Holder to remain on in hopes of maintaining some stability in a Cabinet expected to undergo significant changes. Expected high-profile departures include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and the president will also need to find a replacement for former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned earlier this month, citing an extramarital affair he had with his biographer.

Earlier in the month, Holder had said he was still weighing whether to return.

During a discussion with law students at the University of Baltimore, Holder said he still needed to consult with the president and his family before making a decision on a second term. And, Holder said, he needed to ask himself, "Do I have some gas left in the tank?"

Holder, the country's first African-American attorney general, has come under fire from congressional Republicans for his handling of the administration's "Fast and Furious" gun-walking program, which illegally sold weapons to straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels. 

One of the guns was reportedly involved in the death of a Border Patrol agent, and the House voted Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over additional documents in their investigation.

A U.S. district court is also hearing a civil contempt lawsuit House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) brought against Holder.

Current Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) have both been rumored as possible replacements for Holder when he does step down. Patrick and his wife, Diane, dined with the president and first lady just days after his reelection, contributing to the speculation.

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