Even with Democrats in control of the Senate agenda, they still need significant bipartisan support to move legislation unless they use a special budgetary process known as reconciliation to move bills with simple-majority votes. But that special pathway is reserved for legislation that directly impacts revenue, spending or the federal deficit.
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Almost all controversial legislation needs to overcome a 60-vote procedural threshold to cut off debate and proceed to an up-or-down vote in the chamber.
Ossoff is leading Perdue by just more than 16,000 votes with an estimated 98 percent of the vote tallied. He declared victory Wednesday, though The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
The damage Trump did to the GOP in Georgia - The Washington Post washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Democrats woke up Wednesday on the doorstep of pulling off a stunning sweep of two high-profile runoff races Tuesday in Georgia and flipping control of the U.S. Senate.