The new US Senate was set to convene Tuesday in a swirl of allegations of personal corruption, voter fraud and dynastic nepotism that threatens to dog the early days of Barack Obama's presidency.
The class of 2009 could face a chaotic swearing-in ceremony. In the most high-profile stand off, Obama's designated replacement for Illinois, Roland Burris, could be stopped from taking his seat by fellow Democrats.
The Democrat claiming victory in Minnesota faces his own bitter objections from Republican members. And then there is the fate of Hillary Clinton's seat in New York which is coveted by a member of the legendary Kennedy clan.
Republican Senator John Cornyn told MSNBC television there were "a couple of ancient precedents" for this level of intrigue in the august legislative chamber's earliest days.
"But this is a very unusual time, to say the least," he said, promising to block former comedian Al Franken's designation as Minnesota senator after a bitterly fought election against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.
After repeated recounts, Minnesota authorities look set to declare Franken the winner by the razor-thin margin of 225 votes out of nearly three million cast. Coleman is crying foul and the courts could yet have the final say.
The senatorial to-and-fro is an unwelcome distraction for Obama as he prepares to take office on January 20, reliant on a focused Congress to enact his ambitious plans including a mammoth economic stimulus package.
Republican blocking tactics in the Senate could undermine that agenda, especially if the Democrats' provisional working majority of 59-41 is weakened by court challenges.
The circus surrounding Burris -- and more specifically around Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich -- is a distraction closer to home for the president-elect following his weekend move from Chicago.
Backed by Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says there is nothing wrong as such with Burris, the former attorney-general of Illinois. But, they argue, there is everything wrong with the governor who appointed him.
Blagojevich is under federal investigation for corruption, including allegations that he vied to sell off Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder.
Just as Cornyn and his Republican allies are doing in the Franken case, Reid Sunday invoked the constitution and historical precedent to insist that the Senate and not Blagojevich will have the final say over Burris.
"We think that we're pretty clear on what we believe is the law, and the precedent in the United States Senate that we are the ones that determine -- Democrats and Republicans determine -- who is going to sit in the Senate," he told NBC. "It's been that way since before 1800."
The African-American Burris is promising not to make a scene, but his supporters suggest a racial bias by Reid against their man.
That is derided by the majority leader and his camp. But it remains to be seen just how they will stop Burris taking his seat, short of sending the Senate sergeant-at-arms to physically block the would-be member from Illinois.
After the shake-up of the November elections, the compilation of the Obama cabinet is also triggering changes in the Senate.
From Colorado, Senator Ken Salazar is Obama's nominee to be interior secretary and he is being replaced by the well-regarded Denver schools chief.
Far more controversy surrounds the question of who New York Governor David Paterson should choose to succeed Clinton, who is Obama's pick for secretary of state.
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of assassinated president John F. Kennedy, wants the job. Veterans of the state's bear pit politics are unimpressed by her family name and want one of their own appointed.
