Sen. Kennedy has passed away at the age of 77 after battling a brain cancer.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement to the press following the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard, August 26, 2009. Obama said on Wednesday he was heartbroken by the death of the senator, also known as "Teddy", a longtime pillar of the Democratic Party who was a crucial supporter of his presidential candidacy.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: A picture of U.S. President Barack Obama and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) is hanged in the reception area of the office of Kennedy at the Russell Senate Office Building August 26, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Sen. Kennedy has passed away at the age of 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts after battling a brain cancer.





FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2009 file photo, Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. , left, stands with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. , during a rally for Obama at American University in Washington, where Obama was endorsed by Kennedy. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother in a political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: The sign of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) office is seen at the Russell Senate Office Building August 26, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Sen. Kennedy has passed away at the age of 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts after battling a brain cancer.

U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (L) walks next to Winnie Mandela, wife of African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, in Brandfort in this January 9, 1985 file photo. Kennedy, a major figure in the Democratic Party who took the helm of one of America's most fabled political families after two older brothers were assassinated, died late on August 25, 2009, CNN said. He was 77. Also known as "Teddy," he was the brother of President John Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, Senator Robert Kennedy, fatally shot while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, and Joe Kennedy, a pilot killed in World War Two. Picture taken January 9, 1985.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: Henry Sanford, Staff Assistant of the office of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), reads the news about the death of Kennedy on the internet August 26, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Sen. Kennedy has passed away at the age of 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts after battling a brain cancer.

Alex Gahl, left, and her friend Rylee Thomas, both 2, accompany Rylee's mother April, top, of Marstons Mills, Mass. , to pay their respects to Sen. Edward Kennedy outside the Kennedy compound, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, in Hyannisport, Mass.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: The flag flies at half-mast over the U.S. Capitol the morning after Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) died at his home in Massachusetts, August 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. Known as The Lion of the Senate, Kennedy, 77, served there for 46 years after he was elected to the seat once occupied by his brother, former President John F. Kennedy.




WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: The flag flies at half-mast over the U.S. Capitol the morning after Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) died at his home in Massachusetts, August 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. Known as The Lion of the Senate, Kennedy, 77, served there for 46 years after he was elected to the seat once occupied by his brother, former President John F. Kennedy.




WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: The flag flies at half-mast over the U.S. Capitol the morning after Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) died at his home in Massachusetts, August 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. Known as The Lion of the Senate, Kennedy, 77, served there for 46 years after he was elected to the seat once occupied by his brother, former President John F. Kennedy.




WASHINGTON - AUGUST 26: The flag flies at half-mast over the U.S. Capitol the morning after Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) died at his home in Massachusetts, August 26, 2009 in Washington, DC. Known as The Lion of the Senate, Kennedy, 77, served there for 46 years after he was elected to the seat once occupied by his brother, former President John F. Kennedy.

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