On Tuesday, Democrats took advantage of the Senate’s filibuster rules to block a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security through the fiscal year. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives last month, would fund the department at current levels but block funding for implementing President Obama’s December 2014 executive order on immigration.
ABC News reports that just 51 senators voted to close debate on the bill, with every Democrat voting against cloture and effectively blocking the Senate’s ability to hold a vote on the legislation:
Senate Democrats filibuster House-passed DHS funding bill. The debate fails to go forward on vote of 51-48.
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) February 3, 2015
Republican Dean Heller of Nevada voted with the Democrats, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell voted against cloture for procedural reasons.
