Boring but important

Lott resigns

Mississippi Republican Sen. Trent Lott announced this week he would leave the Senate by the end of the year. Lott, 66, gave no reason for his resignation during a hastily called news conference in his hometown of Pascagoula, but said his health was not an issue. Lott served as Senate majority leader from 1996 to 2002, when he stepped down after making comments that seemed to endorse racial segregation. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, will name a successor to serve out Lott’s term.

Economic advisor out

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The Bush administration lost a key player this week that when chief economic advisor Al Hubbard resigned. Hubbard, 60, helped coordinate the administration’s unsuccessful push to introduce private investment accounts for many Social Security beneficiaries. He leaves as the White House confronts several thorny economic problems, including a housing slump and a credit crisis. Hubbard joins several other high-ranking Bush administration figures who have resigned recently, including terrorism advisor Frances Townsend and political strategist Karl Rove.