"Tonight, we completed the first step toward replacing our broken tax code. ... We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace a failing tax code that holds Americans back with one that actually works for them," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said following the 51-49 vote.
Tax cuts that have become Republicans' essential policy objective since the Senate failed to pass multiple bills to rewrite Obamacare. Approval of the budget is expected to help shore up ties between Senate GOP leaders and President Donald Trump, who is angry at Republicans' failure on health care and bent on Congress approving a tax-reform package by the end of the year.