The Democrats mustered the 60-vote minimum needed to avoid a possible Republican filibuster, after falling three votes short Wednesday.

The vote was 60-40.

Democrats control 58 seats and can usually count on the support of independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. They typically need only one Republican to vote with them. In this case, three GOP senators voted with them, approving cloture.

The Senate will now consider a few remaining amendments, which based on Senate rules must be considered germane to the overall bill.

After that, and regardless of the outcome of any amendment votes, a final vote will be held. Approval is widely expected.

How The Vote Changed

The GOP members voting for cloture were: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, who voted in favor of cloture Wednesday; and the newly-elected Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

Brown was expected to vote with the Democrats yesterday but changed his mind over lingering concerns about how some of the too-big-to-fail provisions might affect big mutual fund firms in his state, such as Fidelity.

Since then, Brown was given "some assurances .... to get him back on board," said one senior Congressional staffer familiar with the conversations, adding that lawmakers did not see the fund firms as presenting a risk to the financial system.

Another difference in the outcome was that Democrat Arlen Specter, who was absent for Wednesday's vote having remained in Pennsylvania following his primary defeat in Tuesday; voted yes along party lines.

Democrats Maria Cantwell of Washington and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, who broke with their party and voted no Wednesday, once again voted against cloture.

Cantwell is said to be among the many members frustrated by the fact that only a small percentage of the 300 amendments filed have been debated and voted on. She has offered two amendments, but neither of which had been taken up.