Washington ? Kansas GOP Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts applauded the resignation of Trent Lott as Republican leader, but Brownback said the controversy revealed deep, lingering divisions on race.

Lott resigned Friday amid a firestorm ignited earlier this month with his tribute at Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday party. Lott said the nation would have been better off if Thurmond had won the presidency in 1948, when he ran as a segregationist.

“The key thing here is not just to move on past Trent, but that we address the issue of race relations,” Brownback said.

“It might seem to some that we’re past this episode and that this was a gaffe, but you saw the depth of sentiment that came forward,” he said. “It’s clear we have not effectively dealt with the issues of race relations. We as a nation need to back up and do that, and we as a party must do that.”

Brownback and Roberts both said Lott did the right thing by resigning on Friday, and both said they would back Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist, who quickly emerged as the favorite for the job.

“Senator Lott’s decision to step aside as Senate majority leader was wise,” Roberts said. “It was the best possible decision for the good of the Republican Party and the nation.”

Roberts said he was excited about Frist as a leader and that Frist would bring “real strength to the Senate and to the agenda of Kansas and the White House.”

Brownback said: “Trent did the right thing. He’s an honorable man, but it was just going to be impossible to move forward an aggressive agenda with the issues that were surrounding him. I’m pleased that he took this step.”

Brownback called Frist “the right man for the moment.”

“Bill’s a great guy. I think he’ll do a wonderful job as majority leader. He’s got a good heart. He’s gone to Africa to do benefit surgeries. He’s pushed health care. He’s brilliant. He’s well-focused. I think he’s the right man for the moment.”

Brownback said that Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, also discussed as a possible candidate for leader, “is a good personal friend of mine.”

“I think Rick would do a good job. But I think Bill is the right guy for this time,” he said.