Chester Trent Lott, Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is a former American politician. He was the U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party between 1988 and 2007. Lott was known for socially conservative political views, and played a major role in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He served as Senate Majority Leader between 1996 and 2001, and again briefly in 2001. He was expected to return as Senate Majority Leader after the Republicans won the 2002 United States Senate elections, but was forced to resign from the Senate Republican leadership after making comments praising Strom Thurmond's segregationist 1948 presidential campaign.More