Holder: GOP ‘Enemies of Democracy’ Must Be Defeated 

Former Attorney General Eric Holder doesn’t recognize the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In an interview with Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias, Holder described the changes to his old department under Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership — changes that are personal to him. And he called on Democrats to keep up the fight against Republican “enemies of democracy.”

“It’s a totally different planet,” he said of the DOJ. “It’s a planet that I don’t want to inhabit. It’s a place I want to get from the bad planet back to Earth One here.” 

Holder contrasted the department under Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which political loyalty appears to be the major hiring consideration, to what it was like when he joined as a young lawyer during a Republican administration. 

“No one ever asked me, was I a Democrat, was I a Republican?” he said.

In Texas, the department’s politicization is especially clear. After Trump pressured the state to conduct a mid-cycle redistricting to protect the Republican majority, the DOJ jumped to provide cover, claiming that the state needed to redistrict because race was used to draw four districts held by Democrats. In reality, there is sworn testimony from the Republican map drawer that race had not been used to draw the districts. 

Holder, who is the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the mid-cycle redistricting is a sign of panic from the White House and Republicans. 

“They’re doing things that I think if you look at it in a politically savvy way are not necessarily wise, but they’ve got to roll the dice because of these falling poll numbers,” Holder said.  

Holder said Republicans are desperate to boost their chances in the midterms because of “unpopular positions that they’ve taken, this wildly unpopular budget bill that as it gets examined by more and more people is likely to get even more unpopular.” 

While Republicans are making undemocratic moves to protect their majority, Holder believes Democrats can collect victories in 2026. He said it’s crucial to stay in the fight. 

“If we’re committed, if we bring ourselves together, we have power that we’d never tap into and we can beat these people,” he said. “I wouldn’t call them enemies, but I would certainly call them enemies of democracy and they have to be defeated.”