Senate Democrats to block Burris

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leaders plan to grant few if any privileges next week to Roland Burris, picked by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to represent the state in the Senate, even if Burris arrives with the proper credentials.

Senate officials involved in the tangle of legal and logistical planning said Friday that a Democrat will object to Burris being sworn with the rest of his class and will propose that his credentials be reviewed by the Rules Committee.

That would give Burris the status of a senator-elect to the seat vacated by President-elect Obama in the juiciest of several dramas swirling around open Senate seats days before the 111th Congress convenes Tuesday.

Senate Democrats are slow-walking Burris' appointment because they hope Blagojevich will be removed from office before the Rules Committee completes its investigation.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, meanwhile, is expected to announce today that he is appointing Michael Bennet, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, to fill the state's vacant U.S. Senate seat.

The state's Democratic senior senator, Ken Salazar, is leaving to serve as secretary of the Interior in President-elect Obama's administration.

Bennet, a Democrat, has never held elected office.

The governor's office declined to comment.

Bennet, 44, was born in India, where his father, Douglas Bennet, a diplomat, was stationed. He was raised mostly in Washington, D.C. He will return with a reputation in Colorado as an analytical thinker unafraid to take on jobs that promise mostly headaches, specifically, running the troubled Denver school system.

He took the job in 2005 after three years as chief of staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

He arrived at Denver City Hall in 2003 after six years as a managing director for an investment firm in Denver; before that, he served as counsel to the deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration.

He graduated with a history degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut before getting his law degree at Yale. His wife also earned her law degree at Yale and has worked as an environmental lawyer. James Bennet, his brother, is a former reporter for The New York Times and is editor of The Atlantic magazine.

Bennet has won broad praise for implementing merit pay for Denver teachers and keeping the school budget in line. He will have to run for election in 2010.

As for the Illinois seat, as early as next week Blagojevich — federal authorities accuse him of offering to sell the appointment to the highest bidder — could become the state's first chief executive to be impeached. A state Senate trial would follow and if he were convicted, Blagojevich would be removed from office.

For his part, Burris planned to argue his case in the news media and threatened to sue Senate Democrats if they refuse to swear him in as the chamber's only black member.

Race is a prominent force in the dispute. Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., said he called Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and "made it abundantly clear that we felt that they should reconsider."

"I have heard no one say that they felt that he is not qualified," Payne said. Race would not be a factor, he added, were there black members of the Senate. "There is a legitimate opportunity to have the Senate at least start to look a teeny bit like America."

Democrats have said their opposition to Burris is not about Burris but the fact that anyone appointed by Blagojevich would be tainted by the corruption accusations swirling around the governor.

The man charged with letting people through the door of the chamber, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer, said he expects the two sides to work out a deal before Tuesday.

Gainer has known Burris since their days in Illinois law enforcement, when Burris was attorney general and Gainer was the director of the state police. "He is a good man," Gainer said in a telephone interview. "He plays by the rules. I don't think there's going to be a confrontation."

Republicans have been wary about commenting, pleased to see Democrats mucking through a political mess.

But Republican Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona said Friday he wants to review state and federal law before opining on whether Burris should be seated.

Not that Republicans are against blocking people from being seated. Another Republican leader, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he would object to seating any new senator from Minnesota until an anticipated court case is finished and an official election certificate issued in the battle between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

Pending the counting of hundreds of unopened absentee ballots, Franken holds a 49-vote lead over Coleman, whose term expires today.

Hundreds of uncounted absentee ballots are due to be opened and examined today.

Compiled from The Associated Press, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times