WASHINGTON — Sen. Roland Burris went back to work Wednesday, giving a speech on the Senate floor and presiding over a body he’s been told by many that he should quit.
Burris gave a two-minute speech from the Senate floor in support of a voting rights bill, then presided over the Senate for an hour, a tradition for freshmen. He spent another hour with the Senate gavel later in the evening.
“Allow these 600,000 residents to become full citizens,” Burris told a virtually empty Senate chamber as he spoke in support of a bill that would give a congressional seat to the District of Columbia.
Engaging in the mundane task of presiding over the Senate was the latest sign Burris is hunkering down despite calls for his ouster.
Burris has been under fire since revelations about how he was appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Burris was appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and ousted from office after he was accused of trying to sell the Senate seat.
