Burris Getting Closer to Obama's Senate Seat

Feinstein, who is the incoming chairwoman of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, also grabbed headlines Tuesday for expressing displeasure that she was not consulted by Obama's transition team on Leon Panetta's possible appointment for CIA director.

Illinois U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris makes a statement after departing Capitol Hill in...

Illinois U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris makes a statement after departing Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. Burris was turned away from the Senate after being told he does not have permission to be seated as the junior senator from Illinois.

(Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

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Senators' Authority Unclear

As the Blagojevich investigation continues, it is unclear whether senators have the right to reject Burris. Election law attorneys have said that senators may not have the constitutional power to refuse to admit Burris into the Senate without some indication that his appointment was corrupt.

The Burris drama is also complicated because it touches on the politics of race. In an almost all-white U.S. Senate, the image of a black politician being banned from the Senate floor injects a new twist to the scandal over Obama's seat.

Burris will return to Chicago after his meeting with Reid and Durbin, and will appear before the Illinois House Special Investigative Committee Thursday afternoon to testify about Blagojevich.

ABC News' Matt Jaffe contributed to the report.