Mississippi's Lott to Resign by Year's End

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

Senator Trent Lott says he's retiring by the end of the year. The second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate has spent 35 years on Capitol Hill. Lott made the surprise announcement yesterday in his home state of Mississippi.

NPR's Peter Overby reports.

PETER OVERBY: Trent Lott said he isn't sick. There's no scandal. It's just time to go. He said he and his wife, Tricia, went to church in Jackson on Sunday.

Senator TRENT LOTT (Republican, Mississippi): And the pastor there, Stan Buckley(ph), just happened to preach on Ecclesiastes 3:1: And there's a time for everything and everything - a special time for everything under heaven.

OVERBY: Yesterday afternoon was the time for speculation on why Lott would walk away from the Senate after all he's been through. First, torpedoing his own career with a racially insensitive remark, then salvaging his reputation, and barely a year ago, winning reelection to a fourth term. Maybe, the speculation went, there was a sense that Republicans won't win back the Senate next fall, or maybe it was the heartache of losing his house to Hurricane Katrina.

Back in 1972, Victor Marver(ph) helped talk Lott into running for Congress. Yesterday, he said that Lott had almost decided to retire when his term ended last year. But then Katrina struck and Lott wanted to use his Washington clout to help in the rebuilding. Now, Marver says, Lott's entitled to move on.

Mr. VICTOR MARVER: This is the right thing for him to do because this is what he wants to do and his wife wants to do.

OVERBY: Lott is 66 years old. And what he didn't spell out yesterday is what he'll do next. He talked about finding a job in Mississippi, and he joked about coaching the Ole Miss Football team. But he also said this.

Sen. LOTT: As you see, I still like the legislative process. I still enjoy getting involved in it. And I'm going to keep doing that as long as I can, and frankly, hopefully, as long as I live.

OVERBY: That seems to mean lobbying. And here's where the intrigue starts.

One of the Senate's ethic rules sets a period in which a former senator cannot come back and lobby his old colleagues. It's called the cooling-off period, and it's been set at one year. The Senate just doubled that to two years effective when Congress adjourns in December. Lott made it clear he plans to be out of there before adjournment.

Even with a one-year cooling-off period, Lott could still fetch a high price down on K Street, the part of Washington where many lobby firms have their offices. That's because his value stems from his knowledge and his connections - things he can use to advise those who do the (unintelligible) their lobbying on Capitol Hill, or he waits out the cooling-off period.

Lott says his decision to leave has nothing to do with any of this. But Michael Munger, chair of political science at Duke University, figures the former Senate Republican whip could draw a salary of $1 million or so.

Dr. MICHAEL MUNGER (Chair, Political Science, Duke University): Senate staff who go find jobs on K Street are getting 300,000, 350,000. An ex-senator with his contacts and knowledge of the rules is bound to make a lot more than that.

OVERBY: And Lott is not a wealthy man - at least not by Senate standards. Not counting his homes on Capitol Hill and in Mississippi, his net worth, as reported to the Senate, is no more than $1.6 million.

Again, Michael Munger.

Dr. MUNGER: Just the name recognition, having him stand beside you at a cocktail party and say, well, here's my friend Trent; he doesn't have to say a word.

OVERBY: If Lott were already negotiating with prospective employers he would have to tell the Senate Ethics Committee. He said he hasn't had any such talks. He's just consulting with friends on how to go about it.

Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.