Brown Will Be Sworn In Thursday

After Sen.-elect Scott Brown made it known that he wanted to be sworn in as soon as possible, Democratic leaders have given the go-ahead: Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), tells The Hill that he expects Brown to be sworn in by 5 p.m. Thursday, and a senior GOP aide reportedly gave the same timeline. No specific time has been set. Manley indicated earlier that if Brown wanted to be sworn in, that was fine by Democrats--as Marc noted, it wasn't a fight they were going to pick--though Sen. Paul Kirk, the appointed stand-in who had replaced the late Sen. Ted Kennedy until Massachusetts voters could pick a replacement, had continued to vote on several measures opposed by Republicans.