Trump predicts Senate will pass budget

President Trump on Thursday predicted the Senate would pass its 2018 budget resolution, a key step toward advancing the Republicans’ tax plan.

“It will be successful tonight,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think we have the votes for the budget.”

{mosads}The resolution, which the Senate is expected to take up Thursday night or early Friday morning, contains language that would allow the Senate to pass tax legislation with a simple majority vote, allowing Republicans to sidestep a Democratic filibuster.

“Frankly, I think we have the votes for the tax cuts that will follow shortly thereafter,” Trump said.

Congress has not yet drafted legislative language for the tax plan. An outline backed by GOP leaders and the White House contains a series of tax breaks that would be funded in part by eliminating certain tax deductions.

The president’s Oval Office comments on the budget were more optimistic than his assessment earlier Thursday, when he tweeted, “I think we have the votes, but who knows?”