KENNEDY

WASHINGTON — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was back in the Senate with vigor last week, keeping a promise to cheering Democrats at their Denver convention last summer that he would return for the opening of the 111th Congress.

He’s buckling down to the business of populating President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet and overhauling the health care system.

It was the first full week on the scene for the Massachusetts Democrat since last May, when he suffered a seizure triggered by what was later diagnosed as malignant brain cancer. Kennedy’s treatment, including surgery, has since kept him away from the Capitol, except for a dramatic appearance to cast an important vote last summer and a few subsequent glimpses.

But the senator, who will turn 77 next month, laid out an ambitious schedule, starting with the opening festivities last Monday, when he did double-duty as an escort to newly reelected senators walking down the chamber’s center aisle to take the oath of office.

He accompanied Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, in the absence of Obama — whose candidacy got a big boost last winter with Kennedy’s endorsement. Then he walked the aisle again with his longtime Massachusetts colleague, Sen. John F. Kerry.

Later, Kennedy and his wife, Victoria, journeyed across the Capitol to celebrate with his son, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, the Rhode Island Democrat just sworn in for his eighth House term.

Kennedy does show some signs of having weathered a fight. His face appears thinner, he sometimes uses a cane, and some strain and reediness sometimes creep into his voice.

But he was the first senator out of the box last week with hearings of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to start the process of confirming two key Obama nominations. On Thursday, Chairman Kennedy hosted another old colleague, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle; on Friday, the guest was Rep. Hilda Solis, the labor secretary-designate.

Sen. Michael Enzi, of Wyoming, the panel’s ranking Republican, was one of many to welcome Kennedy back — and congratulate him “on being the first to hold a hearing on President-elect Obama’s nominees. That’s typical Sen. Kennedy fashion to get right into it right away — be first.”

Sen. Jack Reed said that, despite his illness, Kennedy has been working for months on the framework for the national health-care effort.

On Friday, at the Solis confirmation hearing, when Republicans raised questions about a controversial labor issue, Kennedy showed some of the old fire, raising his voice in defense of the union movement.

Moments later, he shifted gears to display the bipartisan good fellowship that has been a key ingredient of Kennedy’s success. When Sen. Orin Hatch, a Utah Republican, spoke up, Kennedy noted that his old friend also serves on another key health committee.

“You’re trying to get rid of me,” Hatch declared in mock outrage.

“I’ve been trying for thirty years,” Kennedy said, without missing a beat. “I thought I’d try the soft soap.”

jmulligan@belo-dc.com