U.S. Senate officials late Monday approved Roland Burris to fill the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, which would give Democrats 58 of the chamber's 100 seats, the biggest majority since 1981. Eager to move beyond the scandal of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich allegedly trying to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder, Senate Democrats accepted Burris and said they expect to swear in the new senator soon. “He is now the senator-designate from Illinois, and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat from Nevada) and Senator Dick Durbin (Democrat from Illinois) said in a joint statement. The two senators said they expect that Burris, a former Illinois attorney general appointed to the position by the embattled Blagojevich, will be seated this week, barring objections from Republicans. While a victory for Burris, the decision was a major reversal by top congressional Democrats, who initially vowed that the December appointment would not be allowed because Blagojevich had been arrested on charges of having tried to sell Obama's Senate seat. Obama had backed that initial decision, but he later agreed with Reid on the need to find “an amicable solution” to remove the issue as a possible distraction to a busy legislative agenda.
