The Senate on Thursday advanced its budget resolution, teeing up a weekend vote on a blueprint for President Trump's tax agenda and other top priorities.

Senators voted 52-48 to kick off consideration of the measure. A simple majority was needed. The resolution sets out instructions that both chambers will eventually use to craft a bill they hope to pass through a process called budget reconciliation, which bypasses the Senate filibuster.

The vote was delayed on Thursday as Senate GOP leadership still had not locked down the requisite amount of votes to advance it along. The prior vote — on Harmeet Dhillon to become assistant attorney general — was held open for nearly two hours while Senate Majority John Thune (R-S.D.) and others tried to firm up the vote total.

"There's, like there always is, questions, and this is complicated stuff," Thune told reporters during the vote. "People want to do their homework and want to be really informed when they make a decision."

"We were hearing folks out and obviously giving them a chance to want to explain their concerns and hopefully get some questions answered, and just make sure everybody had a comfort level with proceeding," he added.

In the end, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted against advancing the resolution due to the included debt ceiling increase. Other Republicans had previously expressed concern about possible Medicaid cuts that could be on the table but voted to open debate.

Central to the resolution is a........

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