Burris brings high drama to the Senate

A day of high drama surrounding Roland Burris’s initial attempt to be seated in the Senate ended Tuesday with the former Illinois attorney general amending his legal battle and considering a new one.

In the hours after Burris was told that he would be denied entry onto the Senate floor Tuesday morning because his certification papers lacked the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, Burris’s lawyers filed an updated motion with the Illinois Supreme Court to force White to act.

{mosads}Burris’s legal team did not file any lawsuit in D.C., but attorney Timothy Wright said they might soon, depending on how a meeting goes Wednesday between Burris, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

However, it appeared that Burris, who has been a thorn in the side of Democratic leaders because he was appointed by disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), lost Tuesday’s round in his struggle to be sworn in as the state’s junior senator. It became apparent that he would not take the oath of office when Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson rejected but retained Burris’s papers.  She issued a statement later that her 15-minute private meeting with Burris was “amicable” and “very cordial.”

“As is our procedure, the secretary retained the certificate and all supporting materials on behalf of the Senate,” Erickson stated.

The motion filed by Burris’s attorneys says Tuesday’s events  “lend greater urgency to the situation.”

In his only public comments of the day, Burris told the media at an outdoor press conference across the street from the Capitol that he was considering his “next step.”

“My name is Roland Burris, and I am the junior senator from the state of Illinois,” Burris said to reporters. “I am not seeking to have any type of confrontation. I will now consult with my attorneys and we will determine what our next step will be.”

At the same conference, Wright dismissed the idea of the possibility of an appointment by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, should Quinn succeed Blagojevich, who was arrested prior to selecting Burris for allegedly seeking to sell the vacant seat of President-elect Obama to the highest bidder.

“There is no vacancy, you need to understand that,” Wright said. “That vacancy has been filled by the current governor; therefore, the new senator is Roland Burris.”

Wright said Burris also gave Erickson an affidavit Tuesday that covers the circumstances of his appointment.

Burris’s brief appearance resulted in a media frenzy, with about 75 reporters and photographers covering his every step. The slow march from the Capitol across the street to the press conference site next to the Russell Senate Office Building was delayed by Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s motorcade. On the way back from the press conference, Vice President Cheney’s motorcade held up the group.

The spectacle moved one GOP aide to quip, “I don’t think Britney Spears could have excited as large of a media frenzy even if she performed her greatest hits in the Ohio Clock Corridor.”

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), who wants the Senate to seat Burris, was once again critical of Reid on Tuesday.

He said, “In 1957, Gov. Orval Faubus decided to stand in the doorway of a schoolhouse in Little Rock, to deny a little girl an education based on the color of her skin.By standing in the door of the U.S. Senate, Harry Reid is appealing  to what Gov. Faubus did.”

Reid aides have strongly condemned Rush’s comments. During an interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Reid noted that Rush favored Blair Hull, a white candidate, over Obama in the 2004 Democratic Senate primary in Illinois.

Once the furor died down, senators quietly chewed on the possibility that Burris may join their ranks.

Democrats were largely tight-lipped, while Republicans sounded amused but concerned about precedent.

“Look, if you have a sitting governor — despite the fact that he’s accused of wrongdoing — and he still proceeds with an appointment and you say no, what kind of precedent does that set?” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). “I don’t know what the answer is, but I hope wiser heads will prevail and think about the precedent that would be set and what down the road that would mean. Because that’s opening the door to a lot of mischief.”

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) said Blagojevich has “taken a problem for his state and made it a problem for the Senate.”

“[Burris] doesn’t have all the proper requirements,” Casey said.

Freshman Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) was one of the rare Democrats to sound more open about seating the Blagojevich selection, repeating Burris’s claim that Illinois needs two senators but also saying he would follow Reid and Durbin’s lead. “I’m open to finding ways so the people of Illinois have a senator sooner rather than later,” Udall said. “But there are questions about the transparency of the process and whether Gov. Blagojevich’s actions have tainted — unfairly so — [Attorney General] Burris’s appointment.”

Alexander Bolton  and Mke Sorghan contributed to this article.