The second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate made the announcement on Monday that he will retire. Trent Lott will be ending his 34-year career in Congress.
Lott has made a name for himself as a huge conservative figure. He stated that “I am announcing today that I will be retiring from the Senate by the end of the year.”
He spoke in his hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi making the announcement. He stated “Let me make it clear, there are no health problems. I feel fine. I may look my 66 years, but I honestly feel good.”
President George W. Bush had kind words for Lotts tating that “his immense talent will be missed in our nation’s capital.”
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is expected to choose a Republican to take over the seat until the next elections are held for the seat in congress and for the presidential election which will take place in November 2008.
The most likely candidate to replace Lott will be a Republican congressman from Mississippi named Charles Pickering. Sen. Jon Kyl is also expected to seek the leadership post Lott had.
Lott was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1972 before entering Senate in 1989. He has been the glue holding the Republicans together for months.