WASHINGTON – Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session.

Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that “my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted.”

The former Illinois attorney general said he was “not seeking to have any type of confrontation” over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But Burris also said he was looking at options for taking the seat.

It was a spectacular demonstration of political gridlock at a time when the Democratic-controlled Congress has been eagerly awaiting Obama’s inauguration while nervously anticipating tense work on a much-discussed stimulus program to steady the faltering economy.

An attorney for Burris, Timothy W. Wright III, said that “our credentials were rejected by the secretary of the Senate. We were not allowed to be placed in the record books. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath. All of which we think was improperly done and is against the law of this land.

We will consider our options and we will certainly let you know what our decisions will be soon thereafter.”

Asked what his options were, Wright said there possibly could be a court challenge and he said that Burris also would continue to talk to the Senate leadership.

There had been earlier indications that the Senate would disallow Burris to take his seat, at least in part because his letter of appointment from Blagojevich was not co-signed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.

Some of Burris’ supporters have bemoaned the fact that Democrats would stand in the way of the Senate gaining its only black member.

Burris himself downplayed the issue of race, telling reporters: “I cannot control my supporters. I have never in my life, in all my years of being elected to office, thought anything about race.”

Earlier Tuesday, Burris had tense negotiations with Terrence Gainer, the Senate’s sergeant at arms.

“I’m presenting myself as the legally appointed senator from the state of Illinois. It is my hope and prayer that they recognize that the appointment is legal,” he said earlier in a nationally broadcast interview.

Burris dismissed the Senate Democratic leadership’s position that he cannot be seated because he was appointed by a governor accused in a criminal complaint of trying to benefit financially from his authority to fill the seat that Obama vacated after winning the presidential election.

Burriss said his belief is that his appointment is constitutional and that “I have no knowledge of where a secretary of state has veto power over a governor carrying out his constitutional duties.”

Burris also maintained that the announcement by Blagojevich Monday of a date for an election for a successor to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., proves the governor still has legal authority to carry out his duties. Emanuel will be Obama’s White House chief of staff.

“There’s nothing wrong with Roland Burris and there’s nothing wrong with the appointment,” Burris said.

Burris has found little support among fellow Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had said Monday that Burris would not be permitted to take his seat because Burris “has

not been certified by the state of Illinois,” a reference to incomplete paperwork that only touches on the dispute. Senate

Democrats maintain that Burris’ appointment is tainted because of the charges against Blagojevich.

While Blagojevich has signed formal appointment papers, White has not, and Senate rules require that signature. Burris, in turn, has gone to court hoping to win an order for White to sign the necessary paperwork, and he has also threatened to sue to take his seat in the Senate.

Representative Rahm Emanuel initiated another contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich today – this one to formally resign his House seat.

CHICAGO – Clout-heavy Chicago politicians are lining up to replace U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, prompting some experts to wonder if the local Democratic party will split on whom to anoint as his successor.

The strength of the contenders may make it tough for Democrats to unite behind one candidate for the congressional seat. Also in question is whether Mayor Richard Daley will name a favorite. Emanuel, 48, has accepted the job as chief of staff to President-elect Barack Obama and is expected to step down soon, leaving two years on his second term with more than 180 days before the next election. Under Illinois law, that means a special election will be held to replace him.

In a city where Democrats rule, the party stamp of approval usually assures a candidate’s victory. Emanuel was the Democrats’ endorsed candidate when he ran for his seat as representative of the 5th district on Chicago’s far northwest side. So was the person Emanuel replaced, now-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But it’s possible that the next person won’t be endorsed by the party, said University of Illinois-Chicago political science professor and former city alderman Dick Simpson.

The contenders for Emanuel’s seat include many with strong claims to the district – which may result in a divided vote that gives no one a majority or an endorsement, Simpson said. Daley may not endorse a candidate for fear of alienating others who want the spot, attorney and columnist Russ Stewart said.

Candidates include 38th Ward Alderman Thomas Allen, 47th Ward Alderman Gene Schulter, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley and state Reps. John Fritchey and Nancy Kaszak.

“The endorsement is critical. If you have an open primary with no endorsement and warring fiefdoms, the candidate with the broadest appeal is going to win,” Stewart said. In Chicago, he said, it’s rare for an election to play out without the Democratic Party or Daley tipping the scales.

Emanuel’s office has not returned phone messages seeking comment on when he might resign.

City authorities would like the special primary and general election to correspond with suburban elections already planned for February and April and have sent Blagojevich a written plea to that effect, said Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections.

“That would minimize costs and minimize voter confusion,” he said.

Blagojevich’s office said Thursday they received the request but had no other comment.

WASHINGTON – Democratic officials say Barack Obama’s fellow Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel has agreed to be White House chief of staff.

One of Obama’s first decisions as president-elect was to ask the Illinois congressman to run his White House staff. Emanuel accepted Thursday after struggling over family and political considerations.

Emanuel serves in the House Democratic leadership and will have to resign his seat and put aside hopes of becoming House speaker.

Emanuel is a fiery Democrat who served as a political and policy aide in the Clinton White House. His selection is a shift in tone for Obama, who chose more low-key leadership for his presidential campaign.

WASHINGTON – Rahm Emanuel knows what it’s like to work in the White House, and while the Illinois congressman says he’s honored that President-elect Barack Obama wants him to be his chief of staff, he also says he’s got “a lot to weigh.”

Emanuel served as a political and policy aide in the Clinton White House, and he says he knows “something about what it means to a family.” He tells Chicago’s WLS-TV that the most important factor in his decision will be what he and his wife want to do as parents.

Meanwhile, speculation swirls over who else might be in line for positions. President Clinton’s former chief of staff John Podesta is heading up the Obama transition team, along with friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and Obama’s Senate chief of staff Pete Rouse. Several Democrats says the operation is well under way, though it was kept quiet to avoid the appearance of overconfidence ahead of Tuesday’s election.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama pivoted quickly to begin filling out his new administration on Wednesday, selecting hard-charging Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff while aides stepped up the pace of transition work that had been cloaked in pre-election secrecy.

Several Democrats confirmed that Emanuel had been offered the job. While it was not clear he had accepted, a rejection would amount to an unlikely public snub of the new president-elect within hours of an electoral college landslide.

With hundreds of jobs to fill and only 10 weeks until Inauguration Day, Obama and his transition team confronted a formidable task complicated by his anti-lobbyist campaign rhetoric.

The official campaign Web Site said no political appointees would be permitted to work on “regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years.

And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.”

But almost exactly one year ago, on Nov. 3, 2007, candidate Obama went considerably further than that while campaigning in South Carolina. “I don’t take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won’t find a job in my White House,” he said of lobbyists at the time.

Because they often have prior experience in government or politics, lobbyists figure as potential appointees for presidents of both parties.

On the morning after making history, the man elected the first black president had breakfast with his wife and two daughters at their Chicago home, went to a nearby gym and visited his downtown offices.

Aides said he planned no public appearances until later in the week, when he has promised to hold a news conference.

As president-elect, he begins receiving highly classified briefings from top intelligence officials Thursday.

In offering the post of White House chief of staff to Emanuel, Obama turned to a fellow Chicago politician with a far different style from his own, a man known for his bluntness as well as his single-minded determination.

Emanuel, he was a political and policy aide in Bill Clinton’s White House. Leaving that, he turned to investment banking, then won a Chicago-area House seat six years ago. In Congress, he moved quickly into the leadership. As chairman of the Democratic campaign committee in 2006, he played an instrumental role in restoring his party to power after 12 years in the minority.

Emanuel maintained neutrality during the long primary battle between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, not surprising given his long-standing ties to the former first lady and his Illinois connections with Obama.

The day after the election there already was jockeying for Cabinet appointments.

Several Democrats said Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who won a new six-year term on Tuesday, was angling for secretary of state.

They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss any private conversations.

Kerry’s spokeswoman, Brigid O’Rourke, disputed the reports.

“It’s not true. It’s ridiculous,” she said in an interview.

Announcement of the transition team came in a written statement from the Obama camp.

The group is headed by John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under former President Clinton; Pete Rouse, who has been Obama’s chief of staff in the Senate, and Valerie Jarrett, a friend of the president-elect and campaign adviser.

Several Democrats described a sprawling operation well under way. Officials had kept deliberations under wraps to avoid the appearance of overconfidence in the weeks leading to Tuesday’s election.

They said the group was stocked with longtime associates of Obama, as well as veterans of Clinton’s White House. Quite apart from transition issues, Obama’s status as an incumbent member of Congress presents issues unseen since 1960, when John F. Kennedy moved from the Senate to the White House.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a postelection session in two weeks, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a news conference Wednesday to reinforce her call for quick action on a bill to stimulate the economy.

That places Obama in uncharted territory – a president-elect, presumably first among equals among congressional Democrats. Yet his and their ability to enact legislation depends almost entirely until Inauguration Day on President Bush’s willingness to sign it.

Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, was elected to a new six-year term from Delaware on Tuesday and he must resign before he can be sworn in as vice president. Democrats are certain to hold his seat, following Jack Markell’s election as governor.

There has been intense speculation that Biden’s son, Beau Biden, is interested in ascending to the seat. But he is serving a one-year stint in Iraq as a member of the National Guard. In the interim, outgoing Gov. Ruth Ann Minner is seen among many Democrats as a likely appointee to hold the office until an election in 2010.

Obama also must resign his Senate seat before he can be sworn in as the 44th president. Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will pick a replacement.