Posted on 12/17/2002 11:55:41 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
WASHINGTON - No Republican senator has said publicly he will challenge Mississippi's Trent Lott for majority leader. Attention, however, is focusing on four lawmakers should GOP senators decide to oust Lott when they meet Jan. 6:
Don Nickles, 54, of Oklahoma, won a seat in the Senate in 1980 at age 31. For the past six years, he has served as GOP whip, second in power to the party leader.
He is set to take over as Budget Committee chairman in the next Congress, where his pro-business, pro-defense views would shape future budgets. He has suggested that savings could be found in politically sensitive benefits programs, which include Medicare and Social Security.
Nickles, who considered challenging Lott in the past, reportedly has not always been comfortable with Lott's willingness to compromise with the Clinton administration or Senate Democrats. He has battled Democrats on such issues as patients rights, raising the minimum wage and cutting taxes, and led opposition against Oregon's assisted suicide law.
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Mitch McConnell, 60, of Kentucky, is best known for his fierce opposition to campaign finance legislation that finally passed this year. McConnell is leading legal efforts to strike down the law, saying campaign spending limits violate the First Amendment's free speech rights.
McConnell, elected to the Senate in 1984, was instrumental this year in passing an election overhaul bill aimed at correcting many of the voting problems revealed in the 2000 presidential election. He heads the Appropriations Committee panel in charge of determining foreign aid.
McConnell headed the National Republican Senatorial Committee for four years, showing an ability to raise money for the 1998 and 2000 elections. He was less successful in winning seats for Republicans. Last month he was elected to succeed Nickles as GOP whip.
McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, President Bush's labor secretary.
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Bill Frist, 50, of Tennessee, has risen rapidly since 1994, when he was became the first practicing physician to enter the Senate in 66 years.
A heart-lung transplant surgeon, Frist founded and ran Vanderbilt University's transplant center. He has gained a reputation as one of the Senate's most respected voices on health issues.
Generally a solid conservative, he has worked with Democrats on issues such as Medicare reform and prescription drug benefits, and became the Senate spokesman last year on the issue of the anthrax sent to several Senate offices.
His standing within the party rose when, as chairman of the GOP Senate campaign committee, he helped lead Republicans back into the majority.
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Rick Santorum, 44, of Pennsylvania, entered the Senate in 1994 after serving two terms in the House. He has made a name for himself on socially conservative issues.
He has pushed for a ban on a late-term abortion procedure and played roles in efforts to change welfare laws and to open part of Social Security savings to private investment.
Santorum has led Senate efforts in behalf of Bush's initiative to make it easier for religious groups to participate in social service programs. He was recently elected to a second term as GOP conference chairman, the party's No. 3 position.
Replace Lott, who's next?
Self-imposed term limits. Nickles got a plum anyway, Chairman of the Budget Committee.
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