The would-be junior senator from Illinois Roland Burris found his path into the US Senate blocked this evening by fellow Democrats who have resisted his appointment by the state's scandal-tarred Governor Rod Blagojevich.
The barring of Mr Burris, who was named to replace President-elect Barack Obama, threw a distracting shadow over celebrations by Democrats, who were starting work in a new Congress with an increased majority and looking forward to having a fellow Democrat in the White House on January 20th.
Mr Blagojevich was arrested last month on charges of trying to sell the Obama Senate seat - charges he has denied - and Democrats took a dim view of his subsequent naming of Mr Burris to fill the seat.
As new senators prepared to be sworn in, Mr Burris, who would be the only black member of the 100-seat chamber, stood in the rain across the street from the Capitol.
"My name is Roland Burris. I am the junior senator from the state of Illinois," the somewhat bewildered-looking 71-year-old said in a brief statement to a throng of reporters.
But the secretary of the Senate apparently didn't see it that way, having just advised Mr Burris that his credentials were not in order to be seated in the 111th Congress. Mr Burris said he was referring the matter to his lawyers.
Democrats in Washington say they hold nothing personal against Mr Burris, a former Illinois state attorney general.
But the party that has billed itself as bringing ethics back to Congress after a string of Republican scandals during eight years under President George W. Bush now wants no part of anything related to Mr Blagojevich.
Moves are under way in the Illinois state legislature to kick the governor out of office and some observers have urged a special election be held to find a new senator, bypassing the governor.
Mr Blagojevich said in a statement in Chicago: "As governor, it is my duty and obligation to appoint a senator when there is a vacancy. I have done that by appointing Roland Burris, a good and decent man... Any allegations against me should not be held against him and especially not the people of Illinois."
Mr Burris, who was formally blocked because his Senate application was not signed by Illinois secretary of state, left the Capitol saying he did not want a confrontation.
Mr Burris has asked the Illinois Supreme Court for a quick decision on his request that the secretary of state be required to sign a certificate declaring him a US senator.
Congressional leadership aides acknowledged there was some question whether there is a legal need for certification, leaving the dispute in murky territory.
