Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose thumbs-down famously killed the GOP’s Obamacare repeal effort, may have ensured the party’s historic tax cuts will pass the Senate this week.

The maverick senator had been considered one of the Republicans most likely to defect on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He was one of the few Republicans who opposed tax cuts passed during former President George W. Bush’s administration.

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But McCain pronounced himself a “yes” vote on Thursday morning, making it far more likely that the Senate will pass the bill. A floor vote is expected late Thursday evening or early Friday.

“I believe the legislation, though far from perfect, would enhance American competitiveness, boost the economy, and provide long overdue tax relief for middle-class families,” he said in a statement.

McCain acknowledged concerns raised by deficit hawks but argued that producing faster economic growth was worth that risk.

“This is not a perfect bill, but it is one that would deliver much-needed reform to our tax code, grow the economy, and help Americans keep more of their hard-earned money,” he said.

McCain’s decision was a bitter pill for liberals who had praised him so vociferously for rescuing the Affordable Care Act.

“Congratulations to john mccain’s wife and children on their upcoming tax-free inheritance,” tweeted Huffington Post reporter Ashley Feinberg, who later deleted the tweet because “it’s not worth it.”

Conservatives, however, welcomed McCain’s support.

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Related: No Democrats Expected to Vote for Tax Cuts — Why?

“We applaud @SenJohnMcCain for putting Americans first and supporting the Senate tax reform bill,” tweeted Job Creators Network. “On behalf of the 29,000,000 small businesses and 56,000,000 small business employees who will benefit, thank you. #TaxCutsNow.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told CNN that he can feel the momentum.

“The vast majority of our members — in fact, all of our members — have said very clearly, they want to be at ‘yes,'” he said. “So rather than sometimes when you’re looking for a reason not to vote for it, what you’re finding right now is within our conference, there is 100 percent participation.”

(photo credit, homepage images: John McCain, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)