Former Senate majority leader Trent Lott hospitalized JACKSON, Miss - A former aide says ex-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has suffered a ruptured appendix. Lee Youngblood said Thursday he has been in touch with Lott's family. Youngblood says the 71-year-old underwent surgery and is expected to recover. Baptist Medical Center spokesman Robby Channell says Lott was in fair condition Thursday afternoon at the Jackson hospital. Lott has a home and office near Jackson. He lobbies for the Washington-based Patton Boggs LLP law firm and the Ridgeland, Miss., law firm of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada PLLC. Lott was elected to the U.S. House in 1972 and Senate in 1988. He resigned as Senate majority leader in 2002 after he made remarks at a birthday party for then-Sen. Strom Thurmond that seemed to support segregation. Lott returned to Senate leadership as minority whip before retiring in 2007.