ASHINGTON,
Dec. 16 — Senate Republicans will meet on Jan. 6 to resolve the fate of
embattled Senator Trent Lott, calling a session to decide whether the
Mississippi Republican should remain the majority leader after making what were
construed as racially divisive comments.
In a sign of the growing political difficulties confronting Mr. Lott, Republican officials said that Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, had scheduled the meeting after discussions with many of his colleagues.
"After consultations with a number of members, leadership, Senator Lott and Senator Nickles, we are calling a conference for Republican members of the 108th Congress Monday, Jan. 6, at 12 p.m.," a statement by Mr. Santorum and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the conference's vice chairwoman, said.
Mr. Santorum had said as recently as Sunday that Mr. Lott should remain as majority leader.
Senator John S. McCain of Arizona said in a statement this afternoon that he, too, supported a meeting "to determine whether or not changes in our leadership are necessary to make clear to the American people that the G.O.P. remains the party of Lincoln both in word and in deed."
The scheduling of the Jan. 6 meeting does not necessarily mean there will be a vote on Mr. Lott's position as Senate majority leader, but it could quickly lead to one as a growing number of senators have said that there is a need to confront the furor enveloping the Mississippi senator.
Nor does it mean that Mr. Lott will survive as majority leader that long, as some prominent party officials are privately predicting that he may have to relinquish his post even sooner if it becomes clear that he does not have the votes of a majority of his colleagues.
White House officials refused to make any public comment today on the gathering rebellion on Capitol Hill. President Bush, who Republicans say deliberately set the events in motion on Thursday with his public criticism of Mr. Lott, ordered his aides to remain silent this morning on anything to do with Mr. Lott.
Disciplined White House aides followed the president's dictate as Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, refused today to move beyond his statement of last week, which was that the president did not think Mr. Lott needed to resign.
But Mr. Fleischer also did not sound the slightest bit of support for Mr. Lott, and he seemed to go out of his way to repeat Mr. Bush's criticism of the majority leader last week. "The president made clear that he found the remarks to be offensive and repugnant and he spoke out clearly about them," Mr. Fleischer said. "He thought that was very important to do."
Republicans close to the president said Mr. Bush had expected his remarks to undercut and perhaps unseat Mr. Lott. But they also said the White House's first choice for his replacement as Senate majority leader was Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, not Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma, who was the first to openly challenge Mr. Lott.
The announcement of the Jan. 6 meeting came after Senator Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican, endorsed the idea of having Senate Republicans rule on Mr. Lott. "It is not fair for us to leave Senator Lott's future as Senate majority leader uncertain, nor is it helpful for the party to let the issue go unresolved," he said. "There needs to be some closure very soon."
Senator Frist, who has often been mentioned as a potential replacement to Mr. Lott, said only that "my Republican colleagues and I are actively engaged in a deciding what is in the best interest of the Senate as an institution and the country."
"I am confident a consensus will emerge, but no decisions have been made yet and I have endorsed no specific proposal at this time," he said.
Some Republicans said the fact that a meeting on Mr. Lott had been set was a clear signal that he should step aside. "It is only a matter of time," one said. "The writing is on the wall."
Mr. Lott has apologized several times for saying at Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th-birthday party that the nation would have been better off had Mr. Thurmond, who ran for president on a segregationist platform in 1948, been elected. Today, Mr. Lott was in Alabama to tape an appearance on Black Entertainment Television as part of his continuing effort to make amends and protect his job.
Some people who had been in contact with Mr. Lott said that they did not believe he would willingly resign as majority leader and that White House intervention might be needed to force him out and avoid a vote.
Other Republicans said Mr. Lott could still hold on. "I think he will," said Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who once opposed Mr. Lott for the top slot.
One Republicans strategist said he did not believe the White House would want the controversy to linger over the next few weeks as it prepared to roll out its legislative agenda for new year.
One longtime Republican who is close to the White House said the hope among Mr. Lott's supporters — one that he said was misplaced — is that with the Christmas holidays, the controversy would dissipate.
Senator Nickles began the call for a Republican meeting on Sunday when he said the uproar had weakened Mr. Lott and threatened the ability of Republicans to pursue a legislative agenda. Mr. Nickles did not say whether he would seek the post, though most political strategists expect he would, and Republicans said it not a certainty that he would win any election.
Mr. Frist is more popular with the administration, several Republicans said, and other members of the current leadership may try to deny Mr. Nickles the promotion he has sought for years.
A senior Republican like Pete Domenici of New Mexico could also take over for the next two years, one Republican said.
Though some senators had pushed for a meeting as early as this week, some Republicans are out of the country and others are on vacation, so there were potential logistical difficulties. The new Congress convenes Jan. 7 so the Jan. 6 date requires them to arrive only one day earlier.
Senate Republican officials were also discussing the idea of giving Mr. Lott a chairmanship or another post to ease the transition, but that could force another lawmaker to step aside, making this move unlikely.
Mr. Nickles, however, is set to take over the Senate Budget Committee.