Trent Lott // Current

The Revolving Door of K Street | American News Project

Capitol Hill lost yet another Congressman to K Street recently, as one more elected official rolled down the hill to join a lobbying firm. Through the story of the latest defector, the American News Project examines this burgeoning trend, known in DC as the "revolving door." Capitol Hill lost yet another Congressman to K Street recently, as one more elected official rolled down the hill to join a lobbying f... more

lagan

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1 month ago

Trent Lott: man of the people, fledgling lobbyist

"Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is struggling a bit to adjust to life as a lobbyist.

Life in the private sector isn't as cushy as Lott thought it would be. No more free lunches, no more taxpayer-funded car and driver, no more overprotective press secretary guarding him from the pesky media". "Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is struggling a bit to adjust to life as a lobbyist. ... more

Chique

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3 days ago

Did Scandal End Lott's Career?

Obituaries for the political career of former Senate Republican leader (and current Republican whip) Trent Lott, who announced Nov. 26 that he will retire in Decembera full five years before his term runs outhave entertained various theories as to why Lott is quitting his job. There's the No Fun theory, which posits that Lott, along with the 17 Republican House members and five Republican senators also choosing to retire, have simply lost their enthusiasm for promoting the policies of an unpopular president in a Congress where they lack a majority. There's the Greedy Pig theory, which posits that Lott wants to dodge new lobbying restrictions that take effect Jan. 1. And there's the Still Clueless About Thurmond theory, which posits that Lott remains puzzled and bitter about losing the top leadership spot simply because, at a 2002 celebration of Thurmond's 100th birthday, he said something nice about Thurmond's 1948 campaign for president on the segregationist Dixiecrat ticket. (Full disclosure: In his 2005 book Herding Cats, Lott accuses me of lighting the bonfire. That isn't true, but I'll own up to tossing the first log.)

Please welcome now the Scandal theory, which is suddenly gaining traction with conservative blogger Michelle Malkin; with Harper's blogger Scott Horton; with Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan; and most especially with David Rossmiller, managing editor of the Insurance Coverage Law blog, which is maintained by Dunn Carney Allen Higgins and Tongue, a law firm based in Portland, Ore. The Scandal theory, which is admittedly speculative, is that legal proceedings concerning Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and the flamboyant plaintiff's attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who is also Lott's brother-in-law, are about to expose improper behavior by Lott.

Our story begins in August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina wreaked its vengeance on the Gulf Coast. In addition to depopulating New Orleans, this unwelcome weather event had the temerity to knock down Lott's 154-year-old beachfront home in Pascagoula, Miss., and also the home of Dickie Scruggs, who in addition to being Lott's brother-in-law was also Lott's neighbor. Lott filed a claim with his insurer, State Farm, but State Farm denied the claim, arguing that the culprit was not high winds, which the policy covered, but rather flooding, which the policy didn't cover. (Lott had separately purchased federal flood insurance, but that didn't come close to covering his losses.) Scruggs filed suit (subscription required) on Lott's behalf. Obituaries for the political career of former Senate Republican leader (and current Republican whip) Trent Lott, who announced Nov. 26... more