Skies brighten for Burris, would-be senator from Ill.

Democrats move quickly to resolve dispute over seat

Roland Burris (left) met at the Capitol with the Senate's majority leader, Harry Reid, as Democrats tried to settle a challenge that would have kept Burris from taking his Senate seat. (Alex Wong/pool vis Bloomberg News)

WASHINGTON - Roland Burris declared yesterday that he should be able to join the US Senate "very shortly" after Democratic leaders changed course dramatically and opened the door to allowing him to replace President-elect Barack Obama.

On the second day of a Washington power odyssey that would intimidate many, Burris told reporters that he is "very happy" and was pleased with his private 45-minute meeting with Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, and Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, the number-two Senate Democrat.

A Democratic official said that Obama and Reid talked by phone on Tuesday about the need to resolve the dispute about Burris amicably.

After meeting with Burris, Reid and Durbin said that Burris, whose appointment was challenged because of the corruption arrest and federal inquiry surrounding Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, has to obtain the signature of the Illinois secretary of state.

Burris is also scheduled to testify today before a state legislative committee considering Blagojevich's impeachment, and Reid and Durbin said he must convince the panel that there was nothing untoward about the appointment, which the governor is accused of trying to sell.

Senate leaders hoped that Burris would be asked under oath today whether he promised Blagojevich anything in exchange for the appointment to Obama's seat. Burris, 71, a former attorney general in Illinois, offered assurances at a news conference yesterday that he wasn't involved in any such "pay to play," saying, "I don't have no money."

Though Burris still has some obstacles to clear before he takes Obama's seat, the fact that the leadership was discussing a path for him to become senator was a major change from last week, when Reid and others were determined to prevent him from joining under any circumstances.

At another news conference yesterday, Reid said since he had "never met the man," the meeting was "very enlightening," and called Burris "obviously very engaging, a very nice man." "We don't have a problem with him as an individual," Reid said.

Senate leaders were under significant pressure to resolve the Burris matter quickly, before its racial and political themes further overshadowed the start of the 111th Congress.

The Congressional Black Caucus voted unanimously yesterday to support seating Burris. "This is a situation where we have a senator who has now missed out on his first day," said Representative Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. "It's only fair that he be sworn in immediately. This is a no-brainer."

Also yesterday, Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, sued the Senate, saying the refusal to seat Burris is unconstitutional.

Burris was on the second day of a bizarre introduction to Capitol Hill, standing in the rain Tuesday to say he wouldn't be seated and then giving a much more upbeat assessment of prospects yesterday after his meeting with Reid and Durbin.

"I don't know what pressure they were under, but they, I guess they have to keep the integrity of the Senate," he said. "And they did not want to rush into anything and make a decision where they have to then be trying to reverse that. And that would even be worse."

Obama, who initially said that Burris should not be seated because of the investigation of Blagojevich, said yesterday that it was up to the Senate to decide.

"I know Roland Burris," the president-elect said. "I think he's a fine public servant. If he gets seated, then I'm going to work with Roland Burris, just like I work with all the other senators, to make sure that the people of Illinois and the people of the country are served."