Can't wait to suckle at the teat of big business. Thanks a Lott.

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Sources: Lott to resign by end of year - CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, intends to resign by the end of the year and join the private sector, sources tell CNN.

Lott is expected to make the announcement Monday in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

A senior Republican source close to Lott said one reason for the decision is the new lobbying restrictions on former lawmakers.

A law kicks in on January 1 that forbids lawmakers from lobbying for two years after leaving office. Those who leave by the end of 2007 are covered by the previous law, which demands a wait of only one year.

Lott, the Republican whip, was elected last year to a fourth term in the Senate. His term lasts until 2012. Watch why Lott is stepping down »

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is responsible for appointing someone to hold Lott's seat until a special election next year.

Rep. Chip Pickering, who has previously announced his resignation from the House, and Rep. Roger Wicker are both considered possible contenders for the seat.

Five other GOP senators -- John Warner of Virginia, Wayne Allard of Colorado, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Larry Craig of Idaho have said they will not seek re-election next year.

Lott's resignation will bring to an end his more than three decades in Congress. He won a House seat in 1972 and was first elected to the Senate in 1988.

He is the first person to serve as whip in both the House and Senate.

Lott, 66, served as Senate majority leader when Republicans controlled that body but was pushed out of the leadership post after he told a 2002 birthday gathering for former Sen. Strom Thurmond that the country would have avoided "all these problems" if Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid had succeeded.

Lott later apologized for his "poor choice of words."

Lott feels he has vindicated himself and has helped guide his state through the difficulties of Hurricane Katrina's destruction, the senior Republican source said.