Wednesday: Budget and defense votes in the Senate

The Senate starts at 10 a.m., and by the late afternoon, it should pass the bipartisan, bicameral House-passed budget deal.

The budget plan faced its biggest test on Tuesday, when it survived a vote to end debate. Sixty votes were needed, and it recieved 67.

{mosads}That should seal the deal for the budget in the Senate, which will only need a simple majority vote for final passage. Based on the remaining time left for debate, a final vote will come at around 4:30 p.m. at the latest, but it could happen earlier if all senators agree to yield back debate time.

However, many Republicans remain opposed to the deal, and may want to use up all the remaining time. Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) tried to get the Senate to agree on Tuesday to allow amendments, but the Senate shot down that idea.

After the Senate passes the budget, it will immediate vote to end debate on the National Defense Authorization Act, another bill the House approved last week.

Six Republicans have already said they would vote to end debate on this bill, which will allow the Senate to pass it later this week.