Senate Democrats faced a setback Thursday evening when the chamber parliamentarian ruled they cannot include a $15 minimum wage in their COVID-19 relief bill. But theres another way Democrats could raise the minimum wage and enact other popular parts of their agenda: They can get rid of the filibuster.

If Democrats cant or wont overrule the parliamentarian in order to pass the $15 minimum wage provision through reconciliation , a budgetary process that allows legislation to pass with a simple majority, they would need the support of 10 Republicans to break the filibusters 60-vote threshold and approve it as a separate bill.

That is unlikely to happen, given that Republicans almost universally oppose minimum wage increases, despite broad public support for them . And any number of other Democratic priorities will almost certainly suffer a similar fate if filibuster rules remain intact. Bills to protect and expand voting rights , prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people, enact immigration reforms, improve health care access, implement new environmental regulations or advance many other key parts of President Joe Bidens agenda will die in the Senate, even if a majority of Americans and a majority of senators support them.