WASHINGTON _ Senate Republicans overcame internal objections to advance a GOP budget plan Tuesday, an important step that lays the groundwork for President Donald Trump's tax cuts.
Some conservatives had griped that the fiscal 2018 budget proposal would allow $1.5 trillion in deficit-financed tax cuts.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was able to secure the majority needed to advance the package, 50-47, without any Republicans opposed. Several senators were absent.
A final Senate vote on the budget is expected later this week. Some GOP deficit hawks have signaled they may yet vote against the final plan. Democrats are all expected to oppose it.
Once Senate Republicans pass the budget and resolve differences with their colleagues in the House, they will be able to use special rules to pass Trump's tax proposal with a simple-majority vote, avoiding the threat of a filibuster.
The tax cuts proposal remains a work-in-progress. Trump is pushing Congress for swift passage, and Republicans, worried they have accomplished little this year, are intensifying efforts to draft a bill.
