WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The names of at least three U.S. Senate Republicans are being floated to replace retiring Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., as minority whip, sources reported.
Jon Kyle, R-Ariz., the GOP's No. 3 leader in the Senate, will seek the whip post, sources told The Hill, while Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., also have been mentioned as a possible successor to Lott, who announced he would leave the Senate by the end of the year.
Calling Lott a "true friend," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Mississippi senator "is one of the strongest defenders of the institution of the Senate."
"I am proud to have worked side-by-side with such a distinguished public servant as Trent Lott and I wish him well as he leaves the Senate," Reid said.
