COLUMBIA, S.C. — The push to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse is about to clear its first hurdle.

But even if a bill to bring down the banner passes the state Senate as expected today, it faces a less certain future in the House.

Senators voted 37-3 on Monday to take down the flag and the pole it flies on, both of which were erected in 2000 as part of a compromise that involved removing the flag from atop the Statehouse dome. The vote was well over the two-thirds majority that will be needed today to send the bill on to the House.

But while that means debate would begin Wednesday in the House, it is far from clear whether a vote will take place the same day — or what the vote will be. House members appear to be less unified.

Republicans met behind closed doors Monday and struggled to reach a consensus on what to do next. Some, including Speaker Jay Lucas, have not said how they will vote.

One idea being floated is to keep the pole and put a different flag on it: the U.S. flag, the South Carolina flag or a different Confederate flag that is not as divisive.

But Democrats say both the flag and flagpole must go, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford said.

Business leaders and Gov. Nikki Haley agree. If the bill passes and Haley signs it, the flag would be lowered for the last time and shipped off to the state’s Confederate Relic Room, not far from where the last Confederate flag to fly over the Statehouse dome is stored.