Lott Leaving Congress, Sets Off Scramble for Leadership Posts

WASHINGTON — Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the number two Republican in the Senate, announced Monday that he is resigning by the end of the year, setting off a scramble for leadership posts that could benefit the Texas delegation.

Lott's surprise decision could propel Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison up the leadership ladder to Republican Conference chair, the number three GOP job in Congress.

Hutchison is pursuing the position, a source close to the senator said. She will likely have competition. Several lawmakers — including Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and John Thune of South Dakota — are possible contenders.

The election could occur as soon as next week when lawmakers return from a two-week Thanksgiving recess. The secret-ballot process has sometimes led to surprising results.

The state's other GOP senator, John Cornyn, could also move up in the leadership rankings. Cornyn could end up with Hutchison's current position, chair of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth highest ranking post in the GOP hierarchy.

Cornyn's office confirmed that he will pursue the post if Hutchison decides to vacate it.

Bruce Buchanan, a political science professor at the University of Texas, said that having two of the four top Republican positions in Congress could allow the lawmakers to use Republican leverage to advance or delay bills according to the needs of Texas.

"The more people in power you have, generally the better you do across the board as a state in the Congress," he said.

Buchanan also said it could elevate Hutchison's profile, at least temporarily, since she has announced she will leave Congress after her current term expires in 2012. She may leave earlier, if she decided to run for governor in 2010.

John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College in California, doubted that Cornyn and Hutchison would gain more power to secure funding for federal projects in Texas, but said that they would get more publicity as party voices.

"They would have to seize the opportunity by being sharp and articulate," he said. "The new job may get them on 'Meet the Press,' but they must be ready for the heat when Tim Russert fires up the grill."

In a press conference in Pascagoula, Miss., Lott did not give a specific reason for leaving Congress, saying it was time for him and his wife, Trish, "to do something else."

"This is not a negative thing. There's no malice, no anger, there's nothing but happiness and pride at the job that I've been allowed to do," he said.

Lott, 66, also said he has no health problems and that being in the minority in a sharply partisan Congress has been difficult.

"I like being a happy warrior," he said. "I don't like some of the negativism that we're dealing with now, but that's life and that's the role, I guess, of politics sometimes."

Lott's political career nearly came to an end in 2002, when, as majority leader, he praised the late Sen. Strom Thurmond in a speech.

Lott said that "the rest of the country" would have been better off if it had followed Mississippi's lead in voting for Thurmond in 1948. Thurmond had run on a segregationist platform. "We wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years either," Lott said.

He apologized for the statement repeatedly but still lost his leadership role.

He was somewhat vindicated last year when he won a surprise election for minority whip by one vote. He defeated Alexander, who could try again for the post.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, currently the third highest ranking Republican, is a leading candidate for Lott's position.

A spokesman for Alexander said that the senator is pondering several leadership posts but has not made up his mind.

President Bush on Monday praised Lott, calling him an "outstanding advocate" for the people of Mississippi who "enjoyed bipartisan respect."

"Republicans and Democrats knew they could count on him to keep his commitments and his word. His immense talent will be missed in our nation's capital," Bush said in a statement.

Lott joked that he might manage his son Chet's musical career and said more seriously that he might become a teacher. But many speculated that his eye was more likely on a lucrative lobbying job, a common destination for retiring lawmakers.

Lott plans to leave Congress before new rules kick in that restrict members of Congress from becoming lobbyists for two years.

"It's a very suspicious connection," Buchanan said.

Following Lott's resignation, the Republican governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, has 10 days to appoint a replacement to serve until a special election to fill the remainder of Lott's term is held next year. The seat is expected to remain in Republican hands.

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