Senate Democrats voted to open debate on a budget resolution this week. | Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Here’s what comes next.

In a 50-49 party-line vote on Tuesday, Senate Democrats took a key step in setting up a contingency plan for Covid-19 relief, voting to begin work on a stimulus package passable without any buy-in from Republicans.

While it’s still possible there could be a bipartisan deal on a Covid-19 package, disagreement between the two parties on just how big a relief package should be has prompted Democrats to keep their options open. During the Tuesday vote, Democrats voted unanimously to begin debate on a budget resolution, the first step in kicking off the reconciliation process, which allows standard Senate procedure for most bills to be circumvented.

While Democrats would ordinarily need 60 votes to pass legislation,