Author:
François Vergniolle de Chantal
(MENAFN - The Conversation) When the Democrats won both of Georgia's Senate contests in January, they pulled off the unlikely feat of gaining control of the Senate . While it's split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, the vice-president is Kamala Harris and thus holds the tie-breaking vote. That gives the Democrats a razor-thin majority, but a majority nonetheless.
Without 60 seats, however, Biden and the Democrats don't have the strength to overcome a filibuster should any Republican senator, even one, decide to block a bill he or she doesn't like. Once rare, the filibuster has been used with increasing frequency since the early 2000s, making it more and more difficult for any administration to pass legislation. It was one of the reasons that Obama gave up on passing the 2009 Clean Energy and Security Act , which aimed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Such were the anticipated obstacles from the Senate, even though the bill had been passed the House by a 219-212.