Senate Democrats agree to seat Burris

Senate Democrats blinked today and agreed to seat Roland Burris as the next senator from Illinois, the Associated Press reported Wednesday morning.

The news came just a day after Burris showed up on Capitol Hill to claim his seat, after being appointed last month by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Democrats woke up to a flurry of negative media coverage as major newspapers published a photo of Burris standing in the rain on Tuesday.

But shortly after the story broke, Politico.com reported that some Democratic aides disputed reports that there was a deal to seat Burris. 

If there was one image that captured the day on Tuesday, it might have been the photo of Roland Burris squeezing his way through a crowd to get to his own press conference in the rain on Capitol Hill.

The photo landed on the front page of Wednesday's New York Times and Wall Street Journal and set up a dilemma for Democrats who were eager to start the year on a positive note. While the incoming Democratic president wanted to talk about his plans to rescue the economy, the media could not resist the image of his Senate successor standing in the rain after being barred from entering the Senate chamber and taking the oath of office.

Although Burris repeatedly described himself as "the junior senator from the state of Illinois," no one in the Senate was using that title, even as some Democrats broke ranks and called for Burris to be seated.

"I presented my credentials to the Secretary of the Senate and was advised that my credentials were not in order and I would not be accepted and I will not be seated and will not be permitted on the floor," Burris said during his brief press conference (shown below).

"I am not seeking to have any type of confrontation," the former Illinois attorney general told the media. "I will now consult with my attorneys and we will determine what our next step will be," he said.

Burris's attorney, Timothy Wright, was more critical of the Senate action, which he said was "improperly done" and "against the law of the land." Wright said he and his client would "consider our options" and decide how to proceed.

The developments came as Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) split with her party leadership and announced that Burris should be seated. "Feinstein's support is important because her committee has a say in whether Mr. Burris is qualified to serve," the New York Times reported.

The Senate's action has also splintered the Congressional Black Caucus and "caused a dust storm of racial politics at a time when many Americans hoped Mr. Obama's election was a sign that the country was moving beyond its racially troubled past," the Times reported.

Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank accused Burris of "seeking to have a circus" with his attempt to be seated on Tuesday. "He had come to Washington to be sworn in as the junior senator from Illinois, but he was cast out by the Senate secretary and instead wound up, his overcoat soaked and his eyeglasses dripping, in a muddy patch of land across Constitution Avenue from the Capitol known as 'The Swamp,'" Milbank wrote.

(Story updated, Jan. 7, 2009, 11 a.m. EST with AP developments.)