The Senate requires 60 votes to invoke cloture and end debate on most legislation, creating a de facto supermajority requirement that allows 41 senators to block bills. This three-fifths threshold replaced the original two-thirds rule established in 1917 at President Woodrow Wilson''s urging. The Senate lowered the bar in 1975 from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn. Changing the Senate''s standing rules still requires a two-thirds vote of members present. Thanks to procedural changes in 2013 and 2017, only a simple majority is needed to confirm executive branch nominees and federal judges. Congress''s annual budget reconciliation process also requires just 51 votes and cannot be filibustered. In an evenly divided 50-50 Senate, finding 60 votes means convincing at least 10 opposition senators to support a bill, making major legislation extremely difficult without bipartisan support.