Senate Democrats to Seat Roland Burris This Week
Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post
The Senate will swear in Roland W. Burris as the junior senator from Illinois later this week, ending a legal showdown that had become an embarrassment for Democratic leaders and for President-elect Barack Obama.
Roland Burris will be sworn in by the Senate this week. (Photo: Paul Beaty / AP)
"The Secretary of the Senate has determined that the new credentials presented today on behalf of Mr. Burris now satisfy Senate rules and validate his appointment to the vacant Illinois Senate seat," read a joint statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin (Ill.).
"We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect," the statement continued. "We are working with him and the office of the Vice President to determine the date and time of the swearing-in."
Reid and Durbin concluded, "We are pleased that everything is now in order, we congratulate Senator-designee Burris on his appointment and we look forward to working with him in the 111th Congress."
Reid accepted Burris's appointment after the former state attorney general's lawyer visited the Capitol this afternoon with new documentation attesting to its legality. Burris was named to succeed Obama by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who is battling federal corruption charges, including allegations that he tried to sell the Senate appointment for personal and political gain.
Burris has not been implicated in the Blagojevich case. But Reid initially deemed the appointment "tainted" because of Blagojevich's legal woes. He and his colleagues have struggled for days to resolve the issue, at first rejecting Burris and then opting to seat him, as their legal position became increasingly shaky and the drama escalated into a distracting sideshow.
Although the Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week that Burris's appointment paperwork, signed by Blagojevich, was valid, Reid and other Democrats have insisted on signatures from both the governor and the Illinois secretary of state.
On Friday evening, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White signed a separate letter validating the appointment, meeting Reid's demand for his signature. Burris also testified before an Illinois House impeachment panel and swore that Blagojevich asked for nothing in exchange for the seat - another Reid requirement.
Burris will hold the seat until a special election in 2010, a showdown that Republicans already are eagerly anticipating, given the appointment spectacle, not to mention the Blagojevich mess.
"By failing to strip Rod Blagojevich of his Senate appointment power, Democrats chose to trust a madman over the people of Illinois," state GOP chair Andy McKenna said in a statement. "Today's endorsement of Rod Blagojevich's handpicked choice for U.S. Senate confirms what Republicans have been saying for years - that Illinois is in dire need of change."