Washington ? Senate Republicans unanimously elected Bill Frist on Monday to lead them in the next Congress, and began trying to shift their focus from Trent Lott’s inflammatory remarks to tax cuts and the rest of President Bush’s agenda.

Scattered throughout the country until Congress reconvenes next month, more than 40 of Frist’s GOP colleagues used a conference call to anoint the eight-year Senate veteran from Tennessee. Among them was Lott, the Mississippian who abruptly quit the job as Senate majority leader Friday, two weeks after touching off a political maelstrom when he lauded Sen. Strom Thurmond’s pro-segregationist presidential run of 1948.

“We stand united,” Frist, who was unopposed, said later in his hometown of Nashville. “We speak as one team, and we — I honestly believe this — will transform what has occurred in the last few weeks, what has occurred at the moment in history, into a catalyst, a catalyst for unity and a catalyst for positive change.”

Frist and other Republicans cited the battle against terrorism, the need to spark an economic revival and creation of prescription drug benefits as issues Congress must confront quickly. But with many Republicans worried that Lott’s remarks have hurt GOP efforts to recruit support from minority voters, Frist indicated he also would focus on repairing that damage.

“We must dedicate ourselves to healing those wounds of division that have been reopened so prominently during the past few weeks,” he said.

Even so, it may take time for Frist to be ready to move at full speed on such measures. In the interim, Republicans will focus in January on extending unemployment benefits and finishing the 11 overdue spending bills for the federal budget year that began Oct. 1, said Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who will be the No. 3 Senate Republican.

Frist, 50, has worked closely with White House officials, including during his supervision of recent GOP campaign efforts that gave them an Election Day takeover of the Senate for next year. Bush congratulated Frist in a written statement.

“Senator Frist has earned the trust and respect of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle,” Bush said. “I look forward to working with him and all members of the Senate and House to advance our agenda for a safer, stronger and better America.”

Monday’s conference call lasted about a half-hour and was the first time a Senate party leader had been elected by lawmakers dispersed throughout the country, said Senate historian Richard Baker. Senate leadership elections are normally done by secret ballot in a Capitol meeting room.

The haste with which leaders scheduled the call — three days after Lott quit, and four days after Frist announced his candidacy to succeed him — underlined the party’s desire to put the Lott episode behind them.

“This was obviously not a joyous celebration,” Santorum told reporters afterward. Sen. George Allen of Virginia said the tone of the phone call was “one of prayerful solemnity.”

Frist was nominated by veteran Sen. John Warner of Virginia, incoming moderate Norm Coleman of Minnesota and conservative Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas. Each represent a wing of the GOP that Frist will have to bring together.