In an interview with the Washington Post’s Mary Anne Akers yesterday, former Republican Sen. Trent Lott (MS) discusses his new career as a lobbyist, saying the private sector “isn’t as cushy” as his gig in the Senate, where he had “free lunches” and a “taxpayer-funded car and driver.” “I took the Metro for the first time,” said Lott. Apparently joking, Lott told Akers, “I haven’t paid for lunch in 30 years,” to which his lobbying partner former Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) added, “he’s learning how to pay for lunch.”
As a senator, Lott was such a fan of lobbyist-funded lunches that when the Senate was considering ethics reform, he complained: “Now we’re going to say you can’t have a meal for more than 20 bucks. Where are you going, to McDonald’s?”