Blagojevich Won: BURRIS SWORN IN TODAY - UPDATES

[Bianca]

                                                 Burris set to replace Obama in Senate today






Jan. 15, 2009
AP
WASHINGTON

– Roland Burris gets sworn in as Illinois Senator today as President-elect Barack Obama's replacement, with Senate Democrats still carrying a bitter aftertaste from being shamed into seating him.

The Senate had resisted Burris' appointment by impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who stands accused of trying to sell the seat. But members of the famously fussy chamber insist that their initial resistance was never about Burris personally. Burris is getting a polite reception so far.

After he's sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney, the senior senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, will throw a reception in Burris' honor.

If Burris expects to win the seat outright in two years, he'll need to quickly win over leaders of his party whose blessing can help raise campaign cash.

[Bianca]

                                                       Roland Burris sworn in as senator
     




 
AP
Jan 15, 2009
WASHINGTON

– Roland Burris took his place as Barack Obama's successor in the Senate on Thursday, ending a standoff that embarrassed the president-elect and fellow Democrats who initially resisted the appointment by impeached
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"I do," Burris said with a grin as Vice President Dick Cheney administered the oath of office to the former Illinois attorney general who takes Obama's place as the Senate's only black member.

More than a week after his colleagues were sworn in, Burris was seated without objection or a roll call vote, even though Majority Leader Harry Reid had said senators would have their voices heard on whether to accept his appointment.

Reid smiled broadly and applauded as Burris received a standing ovation from his new colleagues and accepted handshakes and congratulations from Republicans and Democrats alike. Later, the senior senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, was throwing a reception in his new colleague's honor.

It was a warm welcome that contrasted sharply with last week's treatment, when Burris showed up on Capitol Hill to be sworn in with his colleagues, only to be turned away by Reid and Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. They argued that Burris' appointment wasn't valid under Senate rules.

But as the scandal-scarred Blagojevich watched, Burris dug in and the two Senate Democratic leaders ultimately relented under pressure from  rank-and-file Democrats who worried that the episode was distracting from more important matters and putting the party — and the president-elect — in a bad light.