The Senate's next moves to pass Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'

The House and Senate are a long way from approving President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" to cut spending, slash taxes and likely raise the debt ceiling.

But the next step in the process begins unfolding Thursday afternoon and over the next 48 hours.

The Senate likely votes between 4 and 6 p.m. ET Thursday to actually "proceed" to a retooled budget framework. The framework is necessary under special budget rules the Senate is using to avoid a filibuster, which would kill the bill.

A "vote-a-rama" is really just a very Senate way of saying "long vote series which probably runs all night." The Senate rifles through roll call vote after roll call vote for hours on end. Most vote-a-ramas run 10-15 hours. They are always related to the budget process. And, because of special budget rules, senators can offer an unlimited number of amendments - and that's why there are so many votes.

Republicans will try to get through this process as quickly as possible - although some conservatives may offer amendments for additional debt reduction or something related to the debt ceiling.

Democrats will likely offer a host of amendments to get vulnerable Republicans on the record about controversial issues like possible cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and even tariffs.

The bottom line is this:

There is some method to the madness.

First, the Senate needs to get through this step. Time is of the essence. But secondly, Fox is told that holding off until later in the week could limit the length of the vote-a-rama if the Senate doesn't start until Friday night. That isn't to say the vote-a-rama won't be long and tiring. But it could abbreviate the process.

Let's take a step backward so we can look forward on what the House and Senate must still do to pass the tax cut and spending cut plan. There are potentially eight steps here. The Senate motion over the next few days is step three.

In February, the Senate adopted an initial budget outline so it could use the special "budget reconciliation process" and avoid a filibuster.

So those were steps one and two of this protracted process.

The Senate's vote-a-rama - culminating with the adoption of a new, updated budget blueprint - is step three.

Why does the Senate do it this way? To comply with specific, strict Senate budgetary rules.

Johnson seemed buoyed last night after he swore in new Reps. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., and Randy Fine, R-Fla., on Wednesday night.

"The margin is a little more comfortable. It's an embarrassment of riches. Now we can lose, what, three votes now or something," he said.

Yours truly asked Patronis if he and Fine would vote for the still incomplete package when it comes over from the Senate.

"I vote for my speaker," replied Patronis.

"Right!" piped up Johnson.

It's possible the speaker was glad to have some backup after one of the worst weeks of his tenure. Johnson lost an internecine fight over proxy voting for members who are pregnant or new moms. That blocked the House from considering other major bills and forced him to shut the House down for the rest of the week on Tuesday.

Regardless, if the House adopts the plan now before the Senate, they go to steps five and six. That's where the House and Senate actually assemble, debate and presumably pass the bill itself. Those steps will be the most challenging set yet. And it likely involves yet another vote-a-rama in the Senate.

Then, we may have steps seven and eight. That's where the House and Senate may need to take yet another set of votes to align again - if both bodies have approved different bills.

That's why passing the "big, beautiful bill" may take until summer. And there will undoubtedly be additional hiccups along the way.