Barney Frank Seeks Short Stint in Senate Barney Frank is finding it hard to say goodbye to Congress. The day after his 32-year term in the House of Representatives ended, Mr. Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on Friday morning that he would like to be appointed as an interim senator to fill John Kerry's seat until a special election later this year. He would not run for election, he said on the MSNBC program "Morning Joe." It is up to Gov. Deval Patrick to name someone to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Kerry's nomination to be secretary of state. If selected, Mr. Frank would be a reliable liberal vote in a series of decisions on taxes, spending and the debt that face Congress this winter and spring. He said it was those votes that had made him think twice about his earlier disinterest in the job. He said he had told Mr. Patrick of his interest. Mr. Frank's appointment would also give Massachusetts a distinctive voice in Senate on matters involving the regulation of banks. Mr. Frank steered the landmark overhaul of financial institutions through the House in the last Congress and would join newly elected Senator Elizabeth Warren, a proponent of pro-consumer banking regulations, as a fellow senator.