Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday shot down speculation that she is a candidate to be the next U.S. attorney general.
"I intend to continue my work for the people of Minnesota as their Senator," Klobuchar said in a statement. "We have a lot of work ahead in Congress in the next year and I want to be there to do it."
A flurry of speculation erupted Thursday morning after news broke that Attorney General Eric Holder would be resigning. Klobuchar, who spent nearly a decade as the Hennepin County attorney before winning her Senate seat in 2006, was among a number of potential replacements named in media reports.
Holder plans to remain at the Justice Department until his successor is chosen. President Obama formally announced his resignation Thursday afternoon in the East Room of the White House.
"Attorney General Holder has been a steady leader at the helm of the Justice Department during a time of significant challenge and change," Klobuchar said. "I have worked with him on a range of important issues, including reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and confirming a new U.S. Attorney for Minnesota. I thank Attorney General Holder for his dedicated service."
Klobuchar, meanwhile, is chasing national ambitions. She has dotten in and out of Iowa in the past year for various speeches and fundraisers and has raised moneny for both would-be presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton and a handful of other Democrats in vulnerable Senate races.
