Trent Lott

Chester Trent Lott Jr. (born October 9, 1941 in Grenada, Mississippi) is a U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party.

Political Biography

Lott attended college at the University of Mississippi. He obtained an undergraduate degree in public administration in 1965 and a law degree from the same school in 1967. He served as a Field Representative of the University and was president of his fraternity, Sigma Nu. He was later criticized for his involvement in the all-white fraternity (which had a reputation for racism). After getting his law degree, he moved to Pascagoula (where he still lives today) and began a law practice.

Related Topics:
University of Mississippi - 1965 - 1967 - Pascagoula

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He was administrative assistant to House Rules Committee chairman William Colmer, also of Pascagoula, from 1968 to 1972. When Colmer, one of the leading segregationists in the Democratic Party retired after 40 years in Congress, he endorsed Lott as his successor in Mississippi's 5th District, covering the southern tip of the state, even though Lott ran as a Republican. Lott won handily. It's very likely that he'd have won without Colmer's endorsement, as this was the year of a titanic Republican landslide in which Richard Nixon captured 49 of 50 states and 78 percent of Mississippi's popular vote. He and his current Senate colleague, Thad Cochran (also elected to Congress that year), were only the second and third Republicans elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction. In 1974, Lott and Cochran became the first Republicans reelected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Lott was reelected seven times without much difficulty, and even ran unopposed in 1978. He served as House Minority Whip (the second-ranking Republican in the House) from 1981 to 1989, the first Southern Republican to hold such a high leadership position.

Related Topics:
House Rules Committee - William Colmer - 1968 - 1972 - Segregationists - Democratic Party - Richard Nixon - Thad Cochran - Reconstruction - 1974 - 1978 - House Minority Whip - 1981 - 1989

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He successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1988, filling the seat formerly held by retiring John C. Stennis. He was re-elected in 1994 and 2000 with no substantive Democratic opposition. Although he would be a heavy favorite for reelection in 2006, he has given some thought to retirement, especially after his house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina (see below).

Related Topics:
1988 - John C. Stennis - 1994 - 2000 - 2006 - Hurricane Katrina

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He became majority whip when the Republicans took control of the Senate in 1995, succeeding as majority leader in 1996 when Bob Dole resigned from the Senate to focus on his presidential bid. As majority leader, Lott was best known for his role in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. It was clear that the Republicans did not have the votes to convict Clinton and remove him from office, but Lott proceeded with the Senate trial in early 1999 under pressure from the far right. He later acquiesced in a decision to suspend the proceedings.

Related Topics:
1995 - 1996 - Bob Dole - Impeachment - Bill Clinton - 1999

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After the 2000 elections produced a 50-50 partisan split, Vice President Al Gore's tiebreaking vote gave the Democrats the majority from January 3-January 20, 2001, when he became Senate Minority Leader in 2001 after Jim Jeffords became an Independent and the Democrats took control of the Senate, but he was to become majority leader again in early 2003 after Republican gains in the November 2002 elections. The Strom Thurmond controversy, however (see below), derailed his chances.

Related Topics:
2000 - Vice President - Al Gore - January 3 - January 20 - 2001 - Senate Minority Leader - Jim Jeffords - 2003 - November - 2002 - Strom Thurmond

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He was a cosponsor of the bill to create a Director of National Intelligence. Despite his alleged racism, Lott has been a strong supporter of high levels of immigration from non-white and third world countries.

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