Capitol Report: Senate Republicans on track to pass budget plan | Facebook’s general counsel to testify to Congress in Russia probe

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President Donald Trump says he thinks Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have the votes to pass a budget that paves the way for tax reform. “But who knows?” he said on Twitter.

Senate Republicans are on track to pass a budget plan that shelves concerns about the deficit in favor of the party’s drive to cut taxes, the Associated Press writes.

The budget is slated for a vote late Thursday, and would set the stage for tax legislation later this year that could pass the Senate with only Republican votes. It would also add $1.5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. The House passed its version of the budget last week. AP says Senate Republican leaders appear to have rounded up the votes to pass the plan late Thursday, or early Friday. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the only Republican to come out against the measure, despite wooing from President Donald Trump.

Trump said on Twitter early Thursday, “I think we have the votes, but who knows?”

Trump’s tax push: Trump called the Senate budget vote the “first step toward massive tax cuts.” As part of his tax-cut campaign, he may make his first address from the Oval Office in November to promote his plan, USA Today reports.

Also see: $4,000? Income boost from corporate tax cuts may be more like $500.

Facebook counsel to Congress: NBC News reports Facebook’s general counsel, Colin Stretch, will testify before the House and Senate intelligence committees in open hearings on Nov. 1, as part of the congressional investigation into Russia’s use of technology to try to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. The company

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  has been trying to show it is cooperating with lawmakers’ requests for information, including turning over ads bought by Russian interests. NBC says Google

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 and Twitter

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  executives are also expected to testify.

Also read: McCain supports bill requiring better disclosure for online political ads.

Trump to huddle with Puerto Rico’s governor: Gov. Ricardo Rossello of Puerto Rico will visit the White House Thursday as the island struggles to recover from hurricanes Maria and Irma. Trump has been criticized by Democrats who say the federal response was slow, and that the president hasn’t shown the same amount of attention to Puerto Rico as he did to residents of Texas and Florida. The Hill has more on the meeting. Just 19% of the island, a U.S. territory, has electricity, according to its government.