Burris confident he will be sworn in

Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris said
Tuesday that he will be sworn in as a senator by the end of the day.

He arrived at the Senate at 10:27 a.m. and was escorted
immediately to the Secretary of the Senate’s office. He was met by Sergeant at Arms
Terrance Gainer and representatives from Majority Whip Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) office
and the secretary of the Senate. The secretary on Monday had rejected Burris’s
credentials to be seated as a senator.

{mosads}Burris was picked to fill President-elect Obama’s seat by
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who was arrested prior to making the
selection for allegedly seeking to auction off the seat to the highest bidder.
As a result of the Blagojevich controversy, Senate Democrats sent a strong message
that they do not plan to swear in Burris Tuesday.However, when asked on CBS’s “Early Show” whether he
believes he would take the oath of office Tuesday, Burris said: “I do believe I
will be.”

“I’m certainly presenting myself as a legally, duly
appointed United States senator from the state of Illinois this morning to the
United States Senate,” Burris stated. “And, therefore, it is my hope and prayer
that they recognize that the appointment is legal and that we must get on about
the business of putting this aside and moving on to solve some of these crises
that Illinois and this country are facing.”

Burris and his supporters are arguing that Blagojevich
has not been stripped of his authority and is therefore the person who can
constitutionally fill the seat.

The former attorney general also stated that Senate
Democrats “are causing the drama” surrounding his selection.

“I’m qualified,” he said, adding, “There’s nothing wrong
with Roland Burris and there’s nothing wrong with this appointment.”

J. Taylor Rushing contributed to this report, which was updated at 10:45.