Obama Leaving Senate on Sunday
President-Elect to Bypass Special Session on Financial Crisis

By Michael A. Fletcher and Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 14, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama announced yesterday that he will resign his Senate seat effective Sunday, leaving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) to choose from among a host of willing successors for the final two years of the Democrat's term.

Obama's decision makes it certain he will be absent as Congress undertakes a new round of action on the financial crisis, including proposed relief packages for Detroit automakers and struggling middle-class homeowners, during a lame-duck session next week.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), said Reid was prepared for Obama's resignation, having learned last week that the president-elect would not participate in the upcoming session.

But Manley said Reid's office had no sense of Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s plans for departing from the Senate. The Delaware Democrat was reelected on the same day the Obama-Biden ticket prevailed, and he has held out the possibility of keeping his seat until early January as succession issues are sorted out. Biden's son, Delaware Attorney General Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, is considered a top contender for appointment to the seat but is serving a tour in Iraq with his National Guard unit.

Obama's resignation could tip the balance of power in the Senate, if only during the lame-duck session, depending on the actions of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.). Lieberman, an independent, is a member of the Democratic caucus, but his colleagues remain furious about his relentless campaigning for Sen. John McCain and other Republican candidates this fall.

Democrats will enjoy a dramatically expanded majority when the new Congress is seated in January, and many in the party are eager to strip Lieberman of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. A vote on Lieberman's fate is expected next week, and if he is ousted as chairman, Senate sources said, Lieberman could cross the aisle to caucus with the GOP.

Manley said Senate officials are researching the implications of such a scenario. But he said that at first glance, there did not appear to be any major organizational repercussions from Obama's resignation, regardless of Lieberman's actions.

The decision to replace Obama rests with Blagojevich, who appointed a review committee last week and said he hopes to make a selection by the end of December.

Among the contenders for Obama's seat are two members of Congress from Chicago -- Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Rep. Jan Schakowsky -- and the head of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, Tammy Duckworth. All are strong supporters of Obama and have made clear they would jump at the chance to take the appointment.

Other possibilities include Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a rising political star and potential rival to Blagojevich in his quest for reelection, and Illinois Senate leader Emil Jones Jr., a mentor to Obama in the mid-1990s.

Chicago businesswoman Valerie Jarrett, an Obama confidante, has taken her name out of consideration, the Chicago Tribune reported yesterday.

"I think nobody has any idea what the governor will do," a Democratic source said.

Blagojevich is a deeply unpopular governor whose approval rating was 13 percent in a recent Chicago Tribune poll. He is close to few people in the Illinois political hierarchy and, as a consequence, owes almost no one.

His own future is unclear, although he remains ambitious. A widening federal investigation into his administration has damaged his reputation, and repeated budget battles have weakened his prospects for election to a third term or to Obama's Senate seat in 2010.

By choosing Jackson, Jones or another African American, Blagojevich would ensure that the Senate continues to include at least one black member. In choosing Duckworth, he would place in the Senate a young Iraq war veteran who lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down.

"That's what he has to decide: Is this going to be a legacy issue or is this going to be a reelection issue?" said one Illinois political operative who is following the situation closely.

Obama, who is not close to Blagojevich, has said he intends to stay out of the discussion about a successor. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said this week that he hopes to discuss a shortlist of his own with Blagojevich.

After a morning workout yesterday, Obama spent time in his Chicago transition offices before making a half-hour stop at Johnson Publishing Co., publisher of Ebony magazine.

CBS News announced yesterday that Obama, along with his wife, Michelle, has agreed to give his first post-election interview today, which is scheduled to be aired Sunday evening on "60 Minutes."

Biden, who has made a series of calls to foreign leaders over the past few days, spent late yesterday afternoon meeting with Vice President Cheney. The Cheneys greeted the Bidens at the vice presidential residence at the Naval Observatory in Northwest Washington.

The four posed for a photo on the front porch before disappearing into the residence. Inside, the Bidens toured their new home, and the vice president and his successor held a 50-minute meeting.

"It was a good visit," said Megan Mitchell, the vice president's press secretary. "The Cheneys enjoyed giving the Bidens a tour of the residence and wished them well as they make it their home in January."

Staff writer Shailagh Murray contributed to this report.