(Image credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The first successful filibuster of the new Congress was bound to happen eventually. The victim? Keystone XL.

The Senate voted 53-39 on the procedural vote, Politico reports. That's seven shy of the number needed to proceed to the bill's final passage, which would approve the construction of the oil pipeline running from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Earlier this month, the House passed a similar Keystone bill, but it's expected Democrats could have enough votes to prevent Congress from overriding a presidential veto, should President Obama reject a bill that reaches his desk.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.