U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate on Monday advanced a $15 billion jobs creation package with bipartisan support, breaking the Republican filibuster and clearing the way for the full passage of the bill by the end of the week.

In a surprising turn of events, just days before the state’s filing deadline, U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) announced Monday that he would not seek reelection, putting the seat in play for Republicans and sending Democrats scrambling to try and find a suitable replacement.

Congressional leaders slammed the proposed task force, calling it a tool to provide the White House and Congressional Democrats with political cover, and demanded that a more powerful commission be created through Congressional action.

The win provides Republicans with the ability to create a log-jam in the Senate. This could spell doom for much of President Obama’s domestic agenda, especially his number one priority, health care reform.