WASHINGTON — His appointment finally endorsed by U.S. Senate leadership, Roland Burris said Monday he expects to be sworn in this week as Barack Obama's replacement.
Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, extended an olive branch to the Democrats who had stood in his way after he was nominated by embattled Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.
He singled out for thanks two of his foremost opponents, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois. "It will be my honor to both serve with them and to learn from them," Burris said.
And he said he "owed a debt of gratitude" to Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who had initially refused to sign papers certifying his nomination. Burris called White "an honorable man" who "stood for what he believed was right."
Senate Democrats initially balked when Blagojevich announced he was appointing Burris to the Senate seat. Their objection, they said, had nothing to do with Burris, but the fact that he had been appointed by a governor facing federal corruption charges, including that he tried to sell the Senate seat.
It became clear that Burris had won his battle to become the junior senator from Illinois when Senate Democratic leaders dropped their objections. The agreement came after Senate lawyers said Burris met the chamber's rules and could be sworn in.
The Senate Democratic leaders told Burris last week that he needed to testify before the Illinois House impeachment committee about his relationship with Blagojevich and submit a signature from the Illinois secretary of state certifying his appointment.
Burris testified at the impeachment panel last week that there was no quid pro quo, and the secretary of state signed his appointment on Friday.
"Barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week," said a joint statement from Reid and Durbin, the assistant Senate majority leader.
"As we had outlined to Mr. Burris, a path needed to be followed that respects the rules of the Senate. We committed to Mr. Burris that once those requirements were satisfied, we would be able to proceed," Reid and Durbin said in the statement. "We are pleased that everything is now in order, we congratulate Senator-designee Burris on his appointment and we look forward to working with him in the 111th Congress."
