Story highlights "I described it earlier as a bumpy ride," Thune said

The Senate voted along party lines 52-48 to start a full debate

Washington (CNN) The Republican Party finally has the wind at its back on tax reform.

Starved of a significant legislative win for 10 long months since President Donald Trump took office, GOP senators are within touching distance of passing the most sweeping reform of the tax code for 30 years.

A final vote on passing the bill, a version of which has already trekked through the House, is expected late on Thursday or Friday -- if the fragile Republican coalition can hold together despite last-minute anxiety over the final shape of the legislation and its long-term political and economic implications.

"I described it earlier as a bumpy ride," Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota told CNN's Dana Bash in an interview on Wednesday. "Now we have to land the plane. And I'm hoping that by the end of the week we'll have the votes to do that."

A day after surviving a near-death experience in the Senate Budget Committee, the bill on Wednesday vaulted another obstacle, as the Senate voted along party lines 52-48 to start a full debate on the proposed new law.

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