Paul G. Kirk, Jr. was one of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s closest friends. The former Kennedy aide and longtime confidant led the funeral services for Sen. Kennedy, currently co-chairs the Commission on Presidential Debates, is Chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library, and serves on the Board of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Now he is the next Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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On Wednesday, the Massachusetts legislature gave final approval to a bill that allows Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim successor to Mr. Kennedy, who recently lost his year long battle with brain cancer. Massachusetts law differs from most states by requiring a special election to replace a Senator instead of allowing the Governor to appoint a replacement. But Sen. Kennedy’s dying wish was to amend the law so that President Obama could regain a critical 60th U.S. Senate vote he needs to pass health care reform this year. Normally, Massachusetts law requires a 90-day grace period before a law can go into effect, but Gov. Patrick will declare a state emergency and announce Kirk today as his choice for the interim Senate seat. Sen. Kennedy’s two sons Edward, Jr. and Patrick, both gave 100% support to Kirk being the best choice to replace their father, who will serve in the Senate until a special election in early 2010. The new Sen. Kirk will likely be sworn in and sitting on Capitol Hill by next week.
