WASHINGTON – Yesterday afternoon, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a bipartisan bill approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a bill President Obama has vowed to veto. In a 62-to-36 vote, 53 Republicans and nine Democrats approved a bill seeking to force completion of the 840-mile pipeline.

After years of political back-and-forth, the Keystone legislation had become a hot-button topic for legislators on both sides of the aisle. Last fall, the Keystone project became a national rallying cry in Senate races across the nation as Republicans from as far away as Alaska and New Hampshire made the project a cornerstone of their campaigns against Democratic incumbents. With Republicans winning the midterm elections, Keystone’s passage seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

While enough Democrats voted for the bill to ensure passage in the Senate, Republicans remain several votes shy of the two-thirds majority they would need to override Obama’s expected veto. This would mark the first major piece of legislation that Obama has vetoed since taking office more than six years ago, having had a Democratic majority in the Senate that prevented anything objectionable from reaching his desk. On two occasions, Obama vetoed less significant legislation, with one related to a Keystone provision attached to a different bill.

Regardless of the likely stalemate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared the nearly month-long debate a victory that would lead to the pipeline getting built.

The bill differs slightly from the version approved by the House in early January, with a pair of energy-efficiency programs added. Senate Republicans are hopeful that House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) will simply move to pass their legislation and send it to the president’s desk, but it is possible that the leaders will convene a conference committee to iron out the differences and have the final legislation reapproved by both chambers.