Scott Brown to be sworn in to Senate a week early

Washington Post ^ | February 3, 2010 | Perry Bacon

[La Lydia]

Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R) will be sworn into office Thursday, a week earlier than expected, after he asked officials in his home state of Massachusetts on Wednesday to certify his election "without delay." Brown's addition to the Senate will mark the end of the 60-vote majority Democrats have held for much of the past year and give Republicans enough votes to block legislation as they choose.

Brown won a special election Jan. 19 for the seat of the late senator Edward M. Kennedy. He had been slated to join the Senate on Feb. 11, but in a letter to Massachusetts's governor and secretary of state, he asked that his election be certified as soon as possible so he could participate in votes scheduled before then. Brown did not say which votes he wanted to take part in.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick (D) is expected to sign an election certificate for Brown on Thursday morning, and the senator-elect would fly from Boston later in the day to be sworn in. Senate Democrats say the swearing-in by Vice President Biden probably will happen at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Congressional Republicans said privately that seating Brown earlier could help them block Democratic nominees opposed by the GOP...Brown's swearing-in comes as Obama is increasingly pushing congressional Republicans to reach compromises with him on key legislation....With Democrats now holding 59 votes, key legislation and nominations will require the agreement of at least one Republican.

Brown has said that he will not vote in lockstep with the GOP, calling himself a "Scott Brown Republican." But he has ruled out backing the health-care bill the Senate passed in December.

[matthew fuller]

"Mary Jo is smiling."

The first legislation that Scott Brown should submit would be a bill naming August 25 a day of remembrance for Mary Jo Kopchne!

[Fetid Facts]

That is $6258 for every man woman and child in America.

No problem. Just raise the minimum wage to $6258 per hour.

[AuH2ORepublican]

I think you have your tinfoil hat on too tight. : )

If Obama was going to send Scott Brown’s National Guard unit to a war zone, why would the Democrats make it look even worse by stalling on seating Brown prior to the announcement? They would seat him quickly, and then Obama would send his unit to Afghanistan. Brown’s decision whether to go with his unit (and leave the Senate temporarily) or claim some sort of privilege to stay behind (and be labeled a hypocrite) would be just as difficult whether or not he already had already been seated. And if Brown chose to go with his unit to Afghanistan, Deval Patrick would not be able to designate a replacement for Brown in the Senate whether it ocurred before or after he was seated.

[truthandlife]

The Democrats are liars so I think there is something with this one. Maybe they want Scott in there a week ealier so they can jam this healthcare legislation down the people’s throats a week earlier.

I don’t trust the Rats for anything.

[GOPsterinMA]

Maybe, but after living through Clinton and currently putting up with this clown, I put nothing past them.

They probably possess Dick Cheney's “Halliburton Weather Machine”. :)

[Mears]

I was half asleep last night when I read this post so it never really clicked.

I never even thought of the deployment of Brown’s unit.

Now THAT would make for some interesting “discussions’,wouldn’t it?

I would put nothing past this administration. Nothing.

I’m looking forward to the swearing in this PM.

[GOPsterinMA]

I’m with you - I put NOTHING past the Rats!

Hopefully Scott doesn’t get deployed to Iraq before 5 pm.

Camelot is dead. THANK YOU GOD, THANK YOU!!!

[television is just wrong]

thanks