Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Republicans chose Mitch McConnell to be minority leader and picked Trent Lott, who resigned a leadership post in 2002 after making racially insensitive remarks, to be whip.

McConnell and Lott will take over their posts when Congress convenes its new term in January. The Republicans are reorganizing their leadership team after losing six seats and their majority in the Nov. 7 midterm elections.

McConnell, 64, of Kentucky, will replace Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, who is leaving the Senate and has been weighing a run for president in 2008. McConnell served as the No. 2 Senate Republican for the past four years and was unopposed for the minority leader post.

``We are unified in our desire to work with the Democrats across party lines to see what we can accomplish for the country,'' McConnell said.

Lott, of Mississippi, defeated Lamar Alexander of Tennessee for whip by one vote, Alexander said. The job is the No. 2 post in the caucus and involves counting votes and working to unify the caucus on legislation.

``Mitch McConnell is a very talented leader who will do a much better job as Republican leader than Senator Frist,'' said George Edwards, a political science professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. ``Trent Lott, however, carries very negative baggage which will not help Republican efforts to capture the votes of minorities.''

Thurmond

Lott's return to the leadership represents a remarkable rebound for his career.

``Most Americans like a comeback,'' Alexander said after the vote.

Lott was whip from 1995-1996 and served as Republican leader for six years. He resigned as majority leader after he was criticized for saying at former South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond's birthday party that if the rest of the country had followed Mississippi's lead in supporting Thurmond's 1948 segregationist campaign for president, ``we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years.''

He later apologized for the remarks.

In a book Lott published last year, ``Herding Cats: A Life in Politics,'' he laid out his version of the events in the Thurmond controversy, while revealing his disappointment with the way he was treated by Frist and President George W. Bush.

Lott, in his book, called his remarks ``innocent and thoughtless'' and made clear that he saw Frist as an opportunist for moving to replace him as Republican leader.

`Thank You'

Lott also recounted remarks by Bush administration officials suggesting Bush wanted a replacement, and said that when Bush called to offer sympathy, Lott responded: ``Thank you, Mr. President, but the rumors did hurt me, and you didn't help when you could have.''

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush welcomed Lott's victory.

``The White House congratulates Senator Lott on his win to be the whip and we really look forward to working with him in the new Congress,'' Perino said.

Hurricane Katrina last year devastated much of the Gulf Coast and destroyed Lott's home in Pascagoula, Mississippi. His efforts to secure reconstruction money for the region helped raise his profile during the past year.

Lott said in May that among caucus leadership jobs, he would prefer the role of whip. ``The whip gets to freelance more, and it's kind of like being the cavalry,'' he said.

Senator Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, said senators supported Lott because he is regarded as an effective leader, and he apologized profusely for his remarks regarding Thurmond.

``He apologized and he paid a serious price for it,'' Snowe said.

McConnell

McConnell is in his fourth term and is married to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

He has a history of partisanship on issues such as judicial nominations and campaign finance limits and has proven to be adept at building tactical alliances with other members.

``He works quietly behind the scenes,'' said Laurie Rhodebeck, an associate professor of political science at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. ``He lines up his allies and he's a pretty good arm-twister when he encounters resistance.''

Senator Robert Bennett said McConnell will be able to unify Republicans behind their legislative agenda while working to find compromise with Democrats.

Joan Claybrook, president of the Washington-based consumer group Public Citizen, said McConnell is too partisan to compromise.

``I think he will attempt to prevail, rather than negotiate,'' Claybrook said.

McConnell is best known for his unyielding opposition to campaign finance limits and his loyalty to Bush's positions on key issues, such as the war in Iraq and Supreme Court nominations.

He voted 100 percent of the time with Bush on key votes in 2003, according to ratings by Congressional Quarterly. In 2005, that dipped to 93 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jay Newton-Small in Washington at jnewtonsmall@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 15, 2006 14:34 EST