MICHELE NORRIS, host:
This is All Things Considered from NPR News. I'm Michele Norris.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block. This was a day of great ceremony here in Washington, D.C., even if it was marred by the strange case of Illinois' Roland Burris. On Capitol Hill, the 111th Congress was sworn in.
(Soundbite of Senate swearing-in ceremony)
Vice President DICK CHENEY (United States): The Senate will come to order.
BLOCK: Dick Cheney is still vice president, so he did the honors in the Senate.
(Soundbite of Senate swearing-in ceremony)
Vice President CHENEY: If the senators to be sworn in will now present themselves to the desk in groups of four as their names are called in alphabetical order, the chair will administer their oaths of office.
BLOCK: The result of the Senate race in Minnesota is being contested, so neither Republican Norm Coleman nor Democrat Al Franken was sworn in.
NORRIS: The senators who were sworn in were escorted by other senators, often a serving or retired colleague from the same state.
(Soundbite of Senate swearing-in ceremony)
Vice President CHENEY: The clerk will read the names of the first group.
Unidentified Woman: Mr. Alexander of Tennessee, Mr. Barrasso of Wyoming, Mr. Baucus of Montana, Mr. Begich of Alaska.
NORRIS: Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, who had surgery this year to remove a brain tumor, did double duty. He escorted both his fellow Massachusetts senator, John Kerry, and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. For the time being, Senator Durbin, who is number two in the Senate Democratic leadership, has no junior colleague from Illinois. The seat vacated by President-elect Obama is also the subject of a dispute, and our colleague Robert Siegel has that story.
ROBERT SIEGEL: The absence was noteworthy before the clerk was through the B's.
(Soundbite of Senate swearing-in ceremony)
Unidentified Woman: Mr. Biden of Delaware, Mr. Chambliss of Georgia, Mr. Cochran of Mississippi.
SIEGEL: The slot between Biden and Chambliss would have been for Burris.
Mr. ROLAND BURRIS (Democrat, Illinois Senator-Designate): I'm going to learn how to walk backwards.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SIEGEL: Roland Burris is the Illinois politician appointed by Governor Rod Blagojevich over the protests of all the Senate Democrats, who vowed not to seat him.
Mr. BURRIS: Well, who - it's a red light, you guys.
SIEGEL: This morning, shortly after 10, Mr. Burris set out from a Capitol Hill hotel and walked through a chilly drizzle to the Capitol building. He was surrounded by a troop of journalists, a couple of dozen strong, a mobile scrum that multiplied in size by the time he reached his destination.
Mr. Burris was en route to hear firsthand the news that he learned yesterday. The secretary of the Senate and the parliamentarian had looked at his certificate of appointment and found it lacking. After his trip to the Capitol building in what was now a more considerable rain, Mr. Burris told reporters what had happened inside.
Mr. BURRIS: I presented my credentials to the secretary of the Senate, and advised that my credentials were not in order, and I would not be accepted, and I will not be seated, and I will not be permitted on the floor. And therefore, 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.
SIEGEL: Senate rules require a signature from both a governor, in this case Rod Blagojevich, and a secretary of state, in this case Illinois' Jesse White, who refused to sign Burris' certificate. Inside the Capitol on the Senate floor, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada acknowledged that Burris is already challenging that.
Senator HARRY REID (Democrat, Nevada): A court case in Illinois is pending to determine whether Secretary of State Jesse White is obligated to sign the certification. We're awaiting that court decision. Mr. Burris takes possession of valid credentials, the Senate will proceed in a manner that is respectful to Mr. Burris, while ensuring that there is no cloud of doubt over the appointment to fill this seat.
SIEGEL: Ensuring there is no cloud would be up to the Senate Rules Committee, and that could take weeks. Mr. Burris himself is determined to be seated and figures that he has the law on his side. In an interview at his hotel last night, I asked Roland Burris about his scheduled meeting tomorrow with Senator Reid, who has spoken of room for negotiation. What will he tell the majority leader?
Mr. BURRIS: Certainly, I'm going to tell Senator Reid that I'm the duly elected - duly appointed United States senator under our Constitution. And Senator, I should be seated.
SIEGEL: And he is - we think he's going to say, you were appointed by somebody who was already arrested and who had been recorded talking about selling the Senate seat. It's simply unacceptable in the view of the Senate Democrats for somebody to come by a seat in the Senate in that way. It will be something to that effect.
Mr. BURRIS: Would you think that Senator Reid would be accusing me of some kind of way of being a part of that?
SIEGEL: I don't know.
Mr. BURRIS: I am not a part of that.
SIEGEL: He's going to say, we said we wouldn't seat such a person before we knew whom Blagojevich would seat.
Mr. BURRIS: And I think that Senator Reid and my distinguished colleague Dick Durbin made a tremendous error in trying to, you know, make that type of a blanket statement and prejudge, because they didn't know - they hadn't taken away the authority of the governor. So how could they then just blanketly make that charge and indict everyone who the governor may appoint? So that - I hope that they are rethinking their position on that, to say that they would not accept anyone who is legally and constitutionally appointed.
SIEGEL: Is there anything here that is negotiable? I mean, I am trying to see whether you regard something (unintelligible) negotiated.
Mr. BURRIS: No. I negotiate by taking my seat. That's what's negotiable, recognizing that this is a legal appointment. It's legal.
SIEGEL: Today one senator did come forward in support of Roland Burris. Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California, the outgoing chair of the Rules Committee, said the Senate should seat Burris. Blocking him, she said, would have ramifications for other governors' appointments. This is Robert Siegel.