A Senate filibuster may kill Biden's agenda, stirring calls to end the controversial tactic. Here's how a filibuster works and its history, explained.
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden's prospects of pushing through his ambitious priorities on COVID-19 relief, racial justice and climate change certainly improved when Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats – and full control of Congress – earlier this month.

But the retention of the Senate filibuster – a congressional tactic that essentially requires 60 Senate votes to get bills passed – means the new president might have to rein in some of his most progressive ideas because the moderates in both parties he'll need to pass legislation won't go for them.

A raise in the federal minimum wage to $15. A curb in oil and gas development. Efforts to reverse decades of systemic racial discrimination. The Senate filibuster makes those much harder lifts.

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