Democrats Retreat on Burris

President-Elect, Senators Signal They're Ready to Seat Appointee

By NAFTALI BENDAVID and BRAD HAYNES

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DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES: Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris, left, meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a day after being refused admission to the Senate swearing-in ceremony.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama and Senate Democrats backed down Wednesday from an embarrassing political fight with the man appointed by accused Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill Mr. Obama's Senate seat.

The reversal came days after Democratic leaders said they would refuse to seat Roland Burris -- a former state attorney general -- because of corruption allegations against the governor. Federal prosecutors last month accused Mr. Blagojevich of influence peddling, including the sale of the president-elect's Senate seat, which the governor has denied.

But the political terrain shifted rapidly this week, marked by the nationally televised scene of Mr. Burris huddling in the rain Tuesday after federal officials turned him away from the Senate swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Obama -- who originally opposed seating any Blagojevich appointee -- personally signaled to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he wanted the matter resolved, when the two party leaders met privately earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Democrats are now worried less by the prospect of being associated with a tainted governor than the danger that a prolonged fight could overshadow their attempts to tackle the economy and other pressing issues during Mr. Obama's first months in office.

The dispute coincided with the arrival Monday of Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Washington. They'd hoped this week would be dominated by symbols of a new activist regime in town. While it is hardly a major setback, triumphant party leaders were instead outflanked by an accused governor and his 71-year-old appointee.

After a 45-minute meeting with Mr. Burris on Wednesday morning, Mr. Reid laid out a path for him to take office. "There's going to come a time when the entire Senate is going to have to act on this," Mr. Reid said. "And that day I hope would come sooner rather than later."

Mr. Burris is scheduled to testify Thursday before the Illinois legislature and offer assurances he didn't engage in any deals with Mr. Blagojevich to gain the Senate seat. The state legislature is considering Mr. Blagojevich's impeachment, and Mr. Reid wants to wait for Mr. Burris's testimony before moving forward.

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Federal officials turned Mr. Burris away from the Senate swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill.

Following those hurdles, Mr. Reid said, the Senate Rules Committee and then the full Senate would vote on seating Mr. Burris. Given the sudden sentiment in favor of rapid action, this could happen soon, although the Rules Committee is likely to have its own questions of Mr. Burris. The entire process could take three to four weeks.

Mr. Reid went out of his way Wednesday to praise Mr. Burris after the meeting. "He obviously is a very engaging, extremely nice man," Mr. Reid said. "He presents himself very well."

This was a remarkable turnaround by Democrats who had rebelled when Mr. Blagojevich announced on Dec. 30 that he was appointing Mr. Burris to the Senate seat.

Senate Democrats immediately issued a letter declaring: "Anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus."

But Mr. Burris described his conversation Wednesday with Mr. Reid as amiable. "When I sat down in that room," he said. "It was as if I'd known Senator Reid for 30 years."

Clearly pleased with the day's proceedings, Mr. Burris expressed confidence that he would sworn in soon. Mr. Burris said he had encouraged friends to contact the governor's office on his behalf when he sought the appointment, but nothing improper happened.

"There was certainly no pay-to-play involved, because I don't have no money," he said.

The politics shifted after it became clear to Democrats that Mr. Blagojevich had no intention of being driven from office quickly, and that Mr. Burris would not be dissuaded from aggressively pressing his case.

At the same time, a growing number of authorities began arguing publicly that the Senate had no legal standing to deny Mr. Burris the seat. Mr. Blagojevich has been accused of trying to exchange the appointment for money or a job, but there is no indication of improper dealings regarding Mr. Burris.

The Democrats' original position "just smelled legally wrong to me from the beginning," said Stanley Brand, a former counsel to the House of Representatives. "The only issue was, was this guy a governor with the power to do what he did," he added in an interview.

The dispute also took on racial overtones, making it more explosive for Democrats. The Senate lost its only African-American member when Mr. Obama was elected president. Several black House members began speaking out on behalf of Mr. Burris, who is African-American.

The turning point may have come Tuesday, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), the outgoing chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, broke with Messrs. Reid and Obama over their objections to the seating of Mr. Burris.

At the same time, Mr. Burris helped his own cause by quietly but emphatically insisting on his right to be seated. Mr. Burris submitted an affidavit Wednesday to the Illinois legislature swearing that he had no improper contact with Mr. Blagojevich regarding the Senate seat.

"Obviously he's a man who is going to stick to his guns, who is arming himself with a legal team and who I think was riding a popular wave, at least in perception, that he was being denied something he had a right to," Mr. Brand said. "If anything, he has showed his mettle to be a U.S. senator in the past two weeks."

The accusations against Mr. Blagojevich have become an embarrassing distraction for Mr. Obama's transition to the White House.

When Mr. Blagojevich appointed Mr. Burris, Mr. Obama released a statement while on vacation in Hawaii that said: "Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision."

But by the time Mr. Obama arrived Monday in Washington and met privately with Mr. Reid, he told the majority leader that if Mr. Burris had legal standing to be seated, he should be seated and the matter closed.

At a news conference Wednesday, Mr. Obama called the dispute a "Senate matter," and described Mr. Burris as "a fine public servant." Mr. Obama said he would work with him, just as he would any senator.

Republicans have been watching the Democrats' discomfort with glee. They've insisted that Illinois hold a special election to fill the seat, an option Democrats oppose, presumably because a Republican might win. On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) reiterated his position that only a special election would fix the "mess."

Write to Naftali Bendavid at naftali.bendavid@wsj.com and Brad Haynes at brad.haynes@dowjones.com