Lott Quits
Trent Lott is resigning from the Senate at the end of this year, but the timing will be negotiated with the governor of Mississippi to avoid a 90 day special election and allow for an interim appointment by the governor [another Repub] and the election to take place on Election Day, 2008. The Washington Post has multiple updates on its resignation article explaining what is going on with the seat.
There is a lot of speculation as to the reason for this sudden announcement, but it may not be so sudden. Lott wasn’t all that thrilled about running again in 2006, but did so because of the argument that he would be more effective in getting aid for Mississippi after Katrina as a senior Senator, than any new Senator could possibly be. Of course, when the Repubs lost their majority in the Senate, his influence was diminished, and 2008 looks to be even worse with all of the other resignations.
He might be resigning to go into lobbying, or because there is some scandal brewing, but it may just be that he’s tired of the whole mess.
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Fat Denny Hastert also left Washington last night. But I’m not 100% convinced it’s not for health reasons. At his press conference, he looked like death warmed over–twice.
I’ve thought for some time that Hastert looked like a prime candidate for a heart attack and/or stroke.
Lott has been talking about leaving for some time, only the timing is a surprise. He may need money to pay his brother-in-law [Dicky Scruggs] for the law suit against his insurance company over Katrina. He has also been increasingly unhappy about the way things are going in the Senate.