What was the Senate vote margin on the American Rescue Plan?

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The Senate passed the American Rescue Plan on March 6, 2021, by a vote of 50-49. This means 50 senators voted for it (all Democrats) and 49 senators voted against it (all Republicans). Since there were no other votes (100 senators total, with 99 present), the math is straightforward. However, 50 votes is not technically a majority. With 100 senators, a true majority would be 51 votes. This is where Vice President Kamala Harris came in. As Vice President, Harris has a constitutional role as President of the Senate and can cast a tie-breaking vote when there's a 50-50 tie. She cast the deciding vote in favor of the bill, making it 50 votes from senators plus Harris's tie-breaker, which counted as the 51st vote needed for passage. This moment reveals a critical fact about Senate power: with Democrats holding exactly 50 seats in a 100-member chamber, they had no margin for error. Every single Democratic senator had to vote yes, and every single Republican voted no. This kind of razor-thin majority gave individual senators (particularly moderates like Joe Manchin) significant leverage to demand changes to the bill.

What was the Senate vote margin on the American Rescue Plan?

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