This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The U.S. Senate passed a procedural step Saturday night by a 51-49 vote to move forward with President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Act, as Vice President JD Vance stood by in case he was needed to break a tie.

Trump has called on Congress to approve the package of tax cuts and spending by July 4th.

As reported by the Associated Press, the vote came after tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations. In the end, two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, opposed the motion to proceed to debate, joining all Democrats.

Ahead of the expected roll call, the White House released a statement saying it "strongly supports passage" of the bill that "implements critical aspects" of the president's agenda.

"It's time to get this legislation across the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through the hours of all-night debate and amendments in the days ahead, AP reports. If the Senate is able to pass a version of the legislation, the bill would go back to the House for a final round of votes before reaching Trump's desk.

As WND reported, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York is expected to call for a full reading of the text in the Senate, which would take hours.