Obama to step down from Senate seat Sunday

Obama’s inauguration is expected to draw at least 1 million people.

combined dispatches

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama is giving up his Illinois U.S. Senate seat effective Sunday, intensifying the jockeying to replace the only black member of Congress’ upper chamber as lawmakers return next week for a lame-duck session.

Several Illinois politicians want the job, including at least three members of Congress. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who’s also a Democrat, will appoint the successor of his choice to fill out the remaining two years of Obama’s six-year term.

Obama, who was in private meetings in Chicago preparing for the transition, said in a statement Thursday that his partial term as a senator had been “one of the highest honors and privileges of my life.

“It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation’s next president,” he said.

He didn’t discuss the timing of his departure. Theoretically, it could make Democrats more vulnerable to a filibuster if the Senate were to need an extra vote next week or before the year’s end on any contentious proposals such as aid to automakers.

However, Obama’s transition staff already had said that he didn’t intend to participate in the lame-duck session. Democratic and Republican aides in the Senate said Thursday that they didn’t expect to see votes that would hinge on Obama’s presence.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden, a Democratic senator from Delaware, who was meeting Thursday evening with outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney, hadn’t announced when he’ll vacate his Senate seat. Nor had Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat who’ll serve as Obama’s White House chief of staff.

Congressional scholar Norm Ornstein of the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute said Thursday that all three men, especially Obama, were in awkward postures right now between their legislative and executive roles.

“You are president-elect but still a member of the legislative body, and if you come back it overshadows everything else,” Ornstein said of the lame-duck session. “You run the risk if you vote that you’re on the losing side. You’d just look diminished. There’s nothing about it that works to your advantage.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s inauguration is expected to draw 1 million-plus to the capital, and already some lawmakers have stopped taking ticket requests and hotels have booked up.

Some people are bartering on Craigslist for places to stay for the Jan. 20 ceremony when Obama takes the oath of office. They are offering cash or even help with dishes for residents willing to open up their homes.

The National Park Service, which is planning for an inaugural crowd of at least 1 million, will clear more viewing space along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route. Jumbo TV screens will line the National Mall so people can watch the inauguration and parade, park service spokesman David Barna said Thursday.

The District of Columbia’s delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is urging planners to use arenas and stadiums to help with overflow crowds wanting to view the ceremonies on big-screen TVs. She is also urging churches to hold viewing parties.