Burris to get Senate seat

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leaders said Monday that Roland Burris of Illinois would be seated as the state's new senator, resolving a conflict that had drawn the Senate into a corruption scandal surrounding the Illinois governor.

After a review of a new letter issued by the Illinois secretary of state affirming Burris' appointment to a Senate vacancy, the two top Senate Democrats — Harry Reid of Nevada and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois — said his paperwork now complied with Senate rules.

"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 two men said in a statement.

Senate officials said they were making plans to swear in Burris later this week, a remarkable turn of events considering Democrats' previous insistence that he would not be seated. At issue are the circumstances of his appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has been accused of seeking to trade the appointment for personal gain. The Illinois House voted to impeach Blagojevich last week.

In Illinois, Burris, 71, said he was "truly humbled and honored to learn that later this week I will officially be sworn into the United States Senate as the Illinois junior senator."

Asked how he would be able to remove the taint from his appointment, he said: "So there's no such thing as taint. There's nothing in the statute about taint."

Burris, a former state attorney general, described efforts to impugn his appointment as more of a "political-type emotional-stirring activity that's been drawn up by someone."

The statement by the Senate leaders indicated they no longer planned to ask the Rules Committee to review the appointment, eliminating another hurdle to Burris joining the Senate. They said his swearing-in could still be blocked by Republican objections but Senate Republicans have given no indication that they are eager to be drawn into what has been an embarrassing episode for Democrats.

Should Burris be sworn in later this week, Democrats would have 58 seats in the Senate. The outcome of one race, in Minnesota, remains undecided with the Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman, challenging a recount that awarded the seat to his Democratic opponent, Al Franken.

The decision to end the dispute over the Illinois appointment also resolves the future of the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama and assures that at least one member of the Senate will be African American.