Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, the Minority Whip, told The Daily Caller that the United States would be a better place if Eric Holder wasn’t the attorney general for a number of reasons, including Operation Fast and Furious.
“There are a lot of reasons the country would be better off without Eric Holder as attorney general,” Kyl told TheDC. “Fast and Furious is just one of them.”
As the second-highest-ranking Republican senator, Kyl is by far the most prominent member of Congress to say Holder’s continuation as Attorney General isn’t good for the country. Kyl’s comment comes just a few days after Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney demanded Holder’s resignation during an interview with Fox News in New Hampshire on Saturday.
Kyl is also the third senator to make such scathing comments about Holder’s continuation as Attorney General, as Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma have both demanded Holder’s resignation. Isakson and Kyl had both voted in favor of Holder’s confirmation as attorney general in 2009.
There are also 52 congressmen, four presidential candidates and two sitting governors demanding Holder step down immediately.
Fast and Furious was a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program, overseen by the Justice Department, which facilitated the sale of thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels via straw purchasers. Straw purchasers are people who can legally purchase guns in the United States but do so with the intention of illegally trafficking them into Mexico.
At least 300 people in Mexico were killed with Fast and Furious weapons, as was Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. (RELATED: Ariz. congressman: Pressure to resign is getting to Holder)
The White House continues to ignore requests for comment about the calls for Holder’s resignation, but is addressing issues about Fast and Furious as they relate to President Barack Obama.
The Fast and Furious storyline exploded last week when Holder lost control and lashed out at The Daily Caller when asked about the surge in calls for his resignation. “You guys need to — you need to stop this,” Holder said at a White House event last Tuesday. “It’s not an organic thing that’s just happening. You guys are behind it.”
*This story has been updated.