WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who has been friendly to credit unions, has announced that he will resign his Senate seat by year's end.

"We've had this great experience for these 35 years, but we do think that there is time left for us to maybe do something else," Lott said at his announcement with his wife by his side. He said he wants to make more time for family and will collaborate with the state and federal officials for a smooth transition.

Back in 1997, then-Senate majority leader Lott helped steer a Mississippi credit union CEO named Dennis Dollar to serve on the National Credit Union Administration Board. "As you know, Senator Lott played a vital role in my nomination and confirmation to serve on the NCUA Board in 1997," Dollar recalled. "He believed that a small town credit union CEO from the Mississippi Gulf Coast could make a positive difference for America's credit unions on the NCUA Board, and I will always be personally grateful for his vote of confidence when he lent his influence to help guide my nomination through the White House and my confirmation through the Senate."