Republican Leaders Rep. Dennis Hastert & Sen. Trent Lott Retire

Representative Dennis Hastert (R-IL), former Speaker of the House officially resigned last night at 11:59 pm EST. He made his resignation official in a letter yesterday to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Hastert said he chose Monday because it would give Blagojevich sufficient time to set a special primary election for Feb. 5 so voters can pick candidates to run for the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2009. Acting like a conservative appreciative of the cost of elections, hes said: "This will minimize inconvenience to the voters and expense to the counties in the 14th Congressional District." If Gov. Blagojevick has not decided whether he will hold the special primary election or appoint a replacement to serve out his term of office. Currently, four Republicans and four Democrats have filed paperwork for Hastert former congressional seat. Hastert's served 21-years in Congress and served as House speaker longer than any other Republican.

Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), the 66-year-old minority whip, also announced yesterday that he would resign in a few weeks. Lott made the surprise announcement in Pascagoula, MS where he grew up. He had been re-elected to a fourth term just last year, and his seat was not expected to be contested until 2012. Lott said he had wanted to leave the Senate after his previous term expired, but “then Katrina intervened” and he ran again “because the people I loved so much were still struggling.” Lott also lost his home to Hurricane Katrina, struggled with clean-up and insurance like his fellow neighbors. Lott served 35 years in Congress and had served previously as Senate Majority Leader.

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Tags: Dennis Hastert, Illinois, Mississippi, Republican, Trent Lott, US Congress, US House, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!