Biden to Resign Next Week.

Filed in National by on January 9, 2009

NBC News is reporting that Vice President-elect Joe Biden will resign his U.S. Senate seat on Thursday next week. I would assume that Ted Kaufman would be sworn in that day or Friday.

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  1. Unstable Isotope says:

    The NJ said that Biden was resigning on Jan. 15. Why are they just reporting it now?

  2. Dana says:

    My question to all of the Delaware news observers: has Mr Biden ever said why he has waited so long?

    It looks like Ron Burris of Illinois might be seated before Ted Kaufman. If that happens, it would put Mr Kaufman is 99th in seniority, at best, ahead only of Al Franken, and perhaps dead last, if Norm Coleman’s lawsuit winds up effective.

    And you’ve got to wonder about something else. The last four vice presidents have been very involved in the presidential team, yet during the transition phase, Joe Biden is out on a congressional junket. From my vantage point, it looks like Mr Biden might be kind of getting shoved aside, or at least standing aside on his own.

  3. nemski says:

    Dana, he did. There’s an TV interview he did a few weeks back.

  4. Dana says:

    OK, nemski, what was his reason? I never heard it.

  5. nemski says:

    1. He wanted to be sworn in as Senator for the state of Delaware one last time.
    2. The transition team thought that Biden might be needed for a vote or two.

    However, my guess is number 1 was more important to him.

  6. Dana says:

    OK, let’s think about reason number one. If that is the case, has he not put his own selfish interests ahead of Delaware’s? By taking that action, he insured that his replacement would be junior to all of the senators sworn in on the opening day. And now, by waiting until the 15th, he makes it likely that Mr Kaufman will be junior even to Ron Burris.

    How about reason number two? Did the Obama transition team think that Ted Kaufman would somehow be an unreliable vote in the Senate?

    Neither of those reasons stands up to even the most minimal of scrutiny.

  7. Rebecca says:

    Hey he’s over in Pakistan as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee right now. Perhaps it would have been inappropriate for him to make that trip as Vice-President-elect. Ya know, only one VP at a time. Sticking to his old job gave him a chance to get things moving quickly in the Pakistan/Afghanistan mess.

    Maybe or maybe not, but it works for me.

  8. nemski says:

    Neither of those reasons stands up to even the most minimal of scrutiny.

    What? I’m shocked!!! Shocked that Biden did something and Dana did not agree. Please someone talk me down.

  9. Unstable Isotope says:

    Dana,

    It’s historic. He’s the youngest ever Senator to be sworn in for a sixth term.