These are the 8 Republicans who could kill the GOP tax plan

Yet again, another key piece of the Republican legislative agenda is coming down to the wire.

Following a 12-11 vote along party lines to push the GOP tax reform bill out of the Senate Budget Committee, Republican leaders now aim to put the legislation up for a vote on the Senate floor by Friday. And just like the failed plan to repeal Obamacare, Republicans can afford to lose only two “yes” votes if they want to pass tax reform.

Until the Tuesday-afternoon vote to push the tax reform bill out of committee, it remained unclear whether Republicans would actually be able to move forward. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a Tea Party stalwart and notable budget committee holdout on tax reform, ended up caving and agreeing to vote yes shortly before the committee vote, as did another one of the bill’s skeptics, Bob Corker of Tennessee.

But although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) assured reporters that he was “optimistic” about the bill after a Senate Republican group meeting with President Trump just before the committee vote, he acknowledged that getting it through a floor vote will be tough.

“It’s a challenging exercise,” McConnell said. “Think of sitting there with a Rubik’s cube and trying to get to 50 votes.”

Here’s where things stand with some of the GOP senators that McConnell will need to get to 50:

• Susan Collins (Maine): After meeting with President Trump, the moderate Collins says that she’s feeling better about the bill. “A lot of my concerns are being addressed,” she told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
• Ron Johnson (Wisconsin): Though Johnson agreed to push the bill out of committee, it’s not fully clear whether he’s a yes on the bill. His colleagues and Donald Trump apparently persuaded him by promising that they will address his issues (he wants more tax cuts for specific types of corporations) before a vote.
• Steve Daines (Montana): As of Tuesday afternoon, Daines still appears to be a hard “no” on the bill.
• Bob Corker (Tennessee): On Tuesday morning, Corker said he wanted to stuff half of the tax reform bill in an “incinerator.” On Tuesday afternoon, he voted to push it to the Senate floor. Democrats point out that Corker has a habit of loudly opposing measures that he ends up voting for.
• John McCain (Arizona): Once again, John McCain is a wild card. After killing the GOP Affordable Care Act repeal with a last-minute surprise vote, he might do the same here. Then again, his votes on tax policy have been more aligned with the standard Republican agenda in recent years, and he could very well end up voting yes.
• Jeff Flake (Arizona): Flake “still has concerns” about the bill, and has not committed to voting yes.
• James Lankford (Oklahoma): Lankford was undecided as of this week, but if Corker’s on board with the bill, some expect Lankford will be too.
• Lisa Murkowski (Alaska): After initially saying she was a no vote because the tax bill would repeal the individual mandate for health insurance, Murkowski flipped on that last week. With Collins and Corker falling in line, Murkowski is anticipated to be a yes vote.