Senate returns to raucous start

Senate Democrats are bracing for a raucous opening day of the 111th Congress this week if disputed new members Roland W. Burris of Illinois and Al Franken of Minnesota try to claim seats in the chamber.

Democratic leaders said Mr. Burris, a Democrat appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich amid federal corruption charges he offered to sell that Senate seat, could be blocked from entering the chamber for the swearing-in ceremony Tuesday.

But Mr. Burris still is expected to arrive Monday in Washington and attempt to gain access to the Senate floor as Illinois’ appointed junior senator.

“As of this moment, he is not allowed on the Senate floor,” a senior Democratic aide said.

Mr. Franken, a Democrat holding a 225-vote lead in a fiercely contested recount battle with incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, will run into a Republican filibuster if he tries to take the oath.

“I can assure you that there will be no way that people on our side of the aisle will agree to seat any senator without a valid certificate,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the incoming chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Friday in a conference call with reporters.

Political turmoil is unheard of in a Senate swearing-in ceremony, and the drama threatens to mar the start of a session in which the Democrat-led Congress has high hopes for working with President-elect Barack Obama, including plans to pass a massive economic stimulus in the next three weeks.

“This is a big distraction for them,” a Republican leadership aide said. “It is not what they want to be talking about right now.”

Neither the appointment of Mr. Burris nor the election of Mr. Franken has been certified by state officials, making it difficult for them to demand to be seated.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has refused to certify the appointment by Mr. Blagojevich — a step that is legally required but is almost always a pro forma move.

He said that while Mr. Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, is highly qualified and respected in the state, the charges against Mr. Blagojevich, which include trying to sell Mr. Obama’s now-vacant seat, sully the entire process of appointing a successor.

“Quite simply, the cloud of controversy surrounding the governor prohibits me from accepting a document that certifies any appointment made by Rod Blagojevich for the vacant U.S. Senate seat from Illinois,” Mr. White said in an Op-Ed column distributed to the press. “Such an appointment, regardless of the merits of the appointee, would be tainted by scandal, and our state deserves better.”

Democrats are under increasing pressure from liberal activists to accept Mr. Burris, who is black and would succeed Mr. Obama as the only black member of the Senate.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, pledged to block any appointment by Mr. Blagojevich.

He said that even if the Burris appointment was certified, it would be referred to a Senate committee for investigation — a move intended to stall the appointment long enough for the Illinois legislature to finish impeachment proceedings against Mr. Blagojevich.

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