Trent Lott

Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is a BPC senior fellow and co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform and Energy Project. He represented the state of Mississippi in the Senate from 1989 to 2007.

As the House Republican whip in 1981, Lott forged the bipartisan alliance that enacted President Ronald Reagan’s economic recovery program and his national security initiatives. He became the Senate’s 16th majority leader in 1996 and, along with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was instrumental in the passing of the historic welfare reform bill of 1996. In 2006, Lott was elected Senate Republican whip for the second time in his career.

Lott served in the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1989. He served in the House Judiciary Committee as a freshman, and served as House Republican whip from 1981 to 1989. He is the only member of Congress to hold this position in both the House and Senate.

After retiring from the Senate, Lott founded the Breaux Lott Leadership Group with former Senator John Breaux, a partnership offering strategic advice, consulting, and lobbying. In 2008, Lott was named honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College, Dublin.