Senate Democrats expect to seat Burris

Discussion

January 13, 2009

The Associated Press Associated Press Tue Jan 13, 2009, 07:29 AM EST

WASHINGTON — Reversing course, Senate Democrats grudgingly accepted embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s hand-selected Senate appointee, Roland Burris, as they sought to break an impasse over President-elect Barack Obama’s former seat.

The new Illinois senator is expected to be sworn into office later this week.

“I really never doubted that I would be seated,” Burris said in a nationally broadcast television interview Tuesday. “It was just a matter of going through the process and making sure that the Senate rules were abided by,” he said.

Asked on NBC’s “Today” show about any role that Obama might have played in softening the opposition to his seating by Senate Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Dick Durbin, Burris said, “I have no knowledge of what the president-elect did.”

Reid and Durbin made the announcement of acceptance in a joint statement Monday, saying Burris “is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect.”

Burris, in turn, called himself honored and humbled to be the state’s newest senator. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve,” he said at a news conference in Chicago. “I recognize that my appointment triggered a challenging time for many.”

The development prevented the impasse that has plagued Democrats from dragging on into Obama’s inauguration festivities, and it capped a gradual retreat by the Senate’s top Democrats.

They had initially tried to dissuade Blagojevich, who faces criminal charges, from making an appointment and suggested that his pick would not be seated. Last week, Burris’ credentials were rejected in a circus-like atmosphere that tarnished the opening day festivities of the new Congress.

But Reid and Durbin said they now anticipate that Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, will be seated this week, barring objections from Republicans.

They made the announcement after Burris lawyers delivered to the Capitol documents certifying his appointment to Obama’s seat, and the secretary of the Senate determined that the paperwork met Senate requirements.

Reid, D-Nev., and Durbin, D-Ill., said they were satisfied both with the documents and with Burris’ testimony before the Illinois House impeachment panel that he did nothing wrong.

Even though Burris does not stand accused of wrongdoing, Senate Democrats rejected Burris last week, only to quickly backpedal after Obama himself privately weighed in and senators fretted that the situation was diverting their focus at a critical time.

Asked Tuesday if his service in the Senate could still carry a taint because of Blagojevich’s legal problems, Burris said he didn’t think so.

“They need to look at my record ... what I have done over the years as a citizen of our state,” Burris said.

He also declined to join in calls for Blagojevich to resign, saying “my position is that you’re innocent in this legal system until you’re proven guilty.”

He said any demand that he would make for Blagojevich to step down “would have no effect.”

Text Only

National News

Judge gives Tenn. dog on death row a reprieve
The life of a mutt that's been on doggy death row for more than a year has been spared by a judge following an outcry from animal lovers and the acceptance of a last-ditch proposal to keep the dog alive.

April 17, 2012
Forecasters: Dangerous storms threaten Midwest
More than a dozen possible tornadoes were reported Saturday as forecasters warned residents across the nation's midsection to brace for "life-threatening" weather.

April 15, 2012
Secret Service scandal deepens; 11 placed on leave
An embarrassing scandal involving prostitutes and Secret Service agents deepened Saturday as 11 agents were placed on leave, and the agency designed to protect President Barack Obama had to offer regret for the mess overshadowing his diplomatic mission to Latin America.

April 14, 2012
Record Mega Millions numbers: 2-4-23-38-46, MB 23
The numbers drawn for Friday night's $640 million jackpost in Atlanta were 2-4-23-38-46, Mega Ball 23. Lottery officials expected to release details about possible winners a couple of hours after the 11 p.m. Eastern drawing.

March 30, 2012
Hundreds rally in NYC in memory of Trayvon Martin
The parents of a black teenager shot to death by a Hispanic neighborhood watch captain in Florida told demonstrators in New York they will keep fighting to get justice for their son.

March 22, 2012
Wife: 'Kony 2012' director suffers from psychosis
The wife of the film director who made a wildly popular video about brutal African warlord Joseph Kony says her husband has been diagnosed with brief reactive psychosis and is expected to stay in the hospital for weeks.

March 21, 2012
Stocks inch higher; Hartford soars on annuity news
Stocks are inching higher in early trading on Wall Street following a bumpy start to the week.

March 21, 2012
France shootings suspect holed up in building
A gunman claiming al-Qaida links and suspected in the killings of three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers barricaded himself in an apartment building Wednesday. He is surrounded by hundreds of police officers and has stopped talking to negotiators.

March 21, 2012
Strong, long 7.6 quake shakes Mexico City
A strong, long 7.6 earthquake with an epicenter in Guerrero state shook central southern Mexico on Tuesday, swaying buildings in Mexico City and sending frightened workers and residents into the streets.

March 20, 2012
Could a U.S. Demjanjuk grave become neo-Nazi shrine?
If relatives of convicted Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk get what they want, their patriarch will be buried in suburban Cleveland — a prospect not sitting well with Jewish advocates who argue the retired autoworker could, in death, become a magnet for neo-Nazis.

March 20, 2012
More National News Headlines

National News

Search Results

Discussion

Senate Democrats expect to seat Burris

Site Map

Contact Us