> only requires 50% to pass This is incorrect. The bill that just failed (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5371 https://www.congress.go

> only requires 50% to pass This is incorrect. The bill that just failed (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5371 https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5371), is an appropriations bill. 60 votes are needed, and the final vote was 55-45. https://apnews.com/article/democrats-republicans-shutdown-negotiations-votes-health-care-29b11579bfc694a52b9e8e272a47bb91 https://apnews.com/article/democrats-republicans-shutdown-ne... What you are referring to with the "50%" is a reconciliation bill (which is what the OBBB was), which requires a simple majority (50% + 1) to pass, and cannot be filibustered. Appropriations bills are what keep the government open. Reconciliation bills do not have this effect. The OBBB could not have been an appropriations bill because those are designed to make changes to mandatory spending programs and taxes, while reconciliation bills are for funding discretionary government operations annually. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1 https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1 https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/13/politics/budget-resolution-reconciliation-spending-bills-explainer https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/13/politics/budget-resolution-re...