Trent Lott: “if I may respond to Senator Reid's comments, with regard to the questions that need to be answered by the designee to be…”

“if I may respond to Senator Reid's comments, with regard to the questions that need to be answered by the designee to be Attorney General, former Senator Ashcroft, this very morning we worked to encourage that those questions be answered as quickly as possible and gotten to the committee. Hopefully, that will be done today, and I understand Senator Daschle, if that can be done, is going to work with us to see if we can move that nomination in a reasonable time next week. I appreciate that very much. Senator Reid touched on our meeting with the President yesterday morning. It was a bipartisan, bicameral meeting. I thought it was a very good meeting. Again, the President was reaching out to the Congress and to the American people through their leaders. That was the sixth meeting he has had with congressional leaders in only 3 days as President, or workweek as President. He did have Sunday. It has been Republicans, Democrats, leaders on education, the elected leaders, but the thing I liked about it, it was not just an effort to reach out with platitudes of courtesy. We got into a discussion on issues, not in great depth, but Senators and Congressmen were able to raise points of concern and interest. I think there was a belief on both sides that it was a very positive meeting. I hope this is the first of many of that type in the months to come.”