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 Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Jr. (born Oct. 9, 1941) is a U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. He was United States Senate Majority Leader from June 12, 1996 through Jan. 3, 2001. Vice President Albert A. Gore Jr.'s deciding vote gave Democrats the majority until Jan. 20, 2001, when Richard B. Cheney became vice president. His deciding vote gave Republicans the majority until June 6, 2001, when Vermont Sen. James M. Jeffords announced his resignation from the Republican Party and decided to join the Democratic caucus as an independent. Lott subsquently became minority leader. With the Republicans' victory in the 2002 Senate elections, Lott was once again slated to become majority leader when the 108th Congress convened on Jan. 7, 2003. However, comments he made at a 100th birthday celebration for South Carolina Sen. (James) Strom Thurmond, a former segregation proponent, that appeared to be nostalgic for racial segregation made Lott's leadership position untenable, and he resigned from the leadership on Dec. 20, 2002. Political BiographyLott attended college at University of Mississippi where he was a cheerleader. He obtained an undergraduate degree in public administration and later a law degree. He served as a Field Representative of the University and was president of his fraternity. He was later criticized for his involvement in the all-white fraternity (which had a reputation for racism). Although eligible, Lott chose not to serve in the military during the Vietnam War. Trent Lott entered public office in 1972, when he was elected to the House of Representatives from Mississippi. He served eight terms, then 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. He became majority leader in 1996, following the resignation of Sen. Robert J. Dole from the Senate to pursue the Presidency. He is currently a cosponsor of the bill to create a Director of National Intelligence. Despite his alleged racism, Lott has been a strong supporter (http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=MS&VIPID=466) of high levels of immigration from non-white and third world countries. Controversy and resignationTremendous political controversy ensued following remarks Lott made on Dec. 5, 2002 at the 100th birthday party of Sen. J. Strom Thurmond. Thurmond ran for President of the United States in 1948 on the Dixiecrat (or States' Rights) ticket, whose primary campaign issue was the perpetuation of racial segregation in the United States. Lott said:
At first, the comment, broadcast on C-SPAN, was largely ignored by the mainstream media but was widely discussed on political blogs such as Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo, which also uncovered Lott's history of actively supporting segregation during college and making similar statements at various points throughout his career. Five days later the story was picked up by all the major news networks, and repeated and discussed extensively. Lott's attempts to explain the remark grew from a mild dismissal as an off-the-cuff remark supporting Thurmond's national defense platform to an explicit repudiation of his racist past and assertions of support for affirmative action in a BET interview, by which time his political fate was sealed. Once reported in newspapers and television, calls for his resignation as majority leader from both ends of the political spectrum grew. Some Democrats and Republicans considered the remark unconscionable, or as Al Gore put it, "fundamentally racist", and many conservative groups and media outlets attempting to create an image for the Republican Party as inclusive of minorities were quick to distance themselves from Lott and criticize the incident. Centrist Democrats and Republicans at first defended Lott, insisting the remarks had been blown out of proportion. After President George W. Bush voiced his own harsh criticism of Lott's remarks: "Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive, and it is wrong. Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country. He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals," it was evident that it would be difficult for Lott to remain majority leader, although the official White House line was that Lott did not need to resign. Lott later agreed with the President's speech. In the aforementioned BET interview, he said, "Segregation is a stain on our nation’s soul... Segregation and racism are immoral." Under pressure from Senate colleagues, and having lost the support of the White House, Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on Dec. 20, 2002. Sen. William H. Frist from Tennessee was later elected to the leadership position. Senator Lott was chosen by his collegues as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules after the controversy.
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