Another Northern League politician, Roberto Castelli, his party's Senate whip, got the Justice Ministry.

The Senate Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, said "we might come down a little bit," toward $200 billion of tax cuts.

The Senate Democratic whip, Harry Reid, said the president was "a liar."

"No one can live under this kind of microscope," said Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming, the Senate Republican whip.

"It's disappointing," said Senator Don Nickles, a Republican from Oklahoma and the Senate whip.

The new Senate Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, is no friend of the brand- name drug industry.

Alan Simpson would later become the Senate Republican whip.

But the television industry also has powerful supporters, including the Senate Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi.

Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming, his party's Senate whip, was to be the Republican Gridiron speaker later in the evening.

"I think people feel that the cloud that hung over him has dissipated," said Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate Democratic whip.