WASHINGTON — Attorney General Loretta Lynch bade farewell to the Department of Justice on Wednesday, celebrated by her co-workers in an emotional afternoon ceremony.
“As I come to the time when I mark the end of my days as your attorney general, it’s been a time of great emotion,” said Lynch, the first African-American woman in U.S. history to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
“It’s been a day of thanks and tremendous gratitude,” said Lynch during the ceremony at the Department of Justice. “But it’s also been a day for me to look back and I’ve had that privilege to sit and think and talk to many of you and also look back on memories.”
Lynch, who became attorney general in April 2015, recalled her early days in law, reminiscing about “running to get to court on time and hoping that the elevators would work” to the laughs of her colleagues.
“It was almost 27 years ago, March of 1990 that I joined this department,” Lynch said. “But I will tell you there are times when it seems like it was just yesterday when I first walked into court and had the immeasurable honor of saying ‘My name’s Loretta Lynch and I represent the United States of America.’”
Lynch earned a reputation as a staunch defender of civil rights, particularly speaking out on behalf of people of color and the LGBT community, largely defining her legacy.
More recently, she faced controversy because of a poorly timed meeting on an airport tarmac with former president Bill Clinton during the 2016 election.
“If you told me then the places that public service would take me and that one day I’d have the even greater honor of leading this wonderful department, I don’t think I would’ve believed you in those days,” she said. “But if you told me then that the Department of Justice would be my professional home for the better part of my adult life, I would have believed that. Definitely.”
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates offered remarks praising Lynch’s particular approach to the attorney general position.
“She understands the devotion that all of the folks here in the Department of Justice have to the American people, to this institution and to the law,” said Yates.
Yates first worked aside Lynch on former attorney general Eric Holder’s advisory committee and spoke highly of her demeanor while under pressure.
“Being pulled in so many directions would fluster most people, but Attorney General Lynch is nothing if not unflappable. We’ve seen that almost daily around here,” said Yates. “Congress doesn’t rattle her. Reporters don’t phase her. Meetings at the White House are handled with aplomb.”
As part of a tradition from the Department of Justice, Lynch was presented with a shadow box that contained badges from all the country’s law enforcement agencies and also the chair she sat in during Cabinet meetings.
“I will not deny that this parting does bring sorrow. But I know that the cause of justice is greater than any one of us. Ours is work that we are blessed to own for the day, and then to pass on,” said Lynch. “I am proud that our day together at the Department of Justice has been one of hope and progress for our nation.”