WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 28:  US President Barack Obama (FROM L-R) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) honor former Senator Edward William Brooke (R-MA) during a ceremony presenting Brooke with the Congressional Gold Medal in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on October 28, 2009 in Washington, DC. Brooke, a two-term Republican senator from 1967-1979, was the first African-American elected to the senate by popular vote. Getty Images logo Getty Images 28 months ago

WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 28: US President Barack Obama (FROM L-R) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) honor former Senator Edward William Brooke (R-MA) during a ceremony presenting Brooke with the Congressional Gold Medal in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on October 28, 2009 in Washington, DC. Brooke, a two-term Republican senator from 1967-1979, was the first African-American elected to the senate by popular vote.