Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough invoked the ire of Republicans in Congress on Thursday for rejecting provisions in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” championed by President Donald Trump.
A couple of GOP lawmakers called for MacDonough to be overruled after she ruled against proposed changes to Medicaid over the view that they do not comply with Senate rules for the budget reconciliation process being used to fast-track the legislation.
“The Senate Parliamentarian, an unelected staffer, is gutting the House’s OBBB and axing conservative wins. Her word isn’t law — just advice. Senate Republicans: ignore her and deliver on President Trump’s agenda, backed by 77M Americans!” Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) posted on X.
Others are going as far as to demand that MacDonough be forced out of the role she has held since being appointed by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in 2012.
“The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just STRUCK DOWN a provision BANNING illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens. This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP,” declared Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). “Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE. Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.”
Republicans are working to pass the bill using the reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass the 60-vote threshold for a filibuster. However, the parliamentarian determined proposals for Medicaid and other programs do not adhere to the Byrd Rule, which demands they stay focused on the budget.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) indicated that he did not plan to overrule MacDonough, telling POLITICO, “No, that would not be a good option for getting a bill done.”
He also suggested lawmakers will try to work around MacDonough’s rulings even as the July 4 deadline favored by Trump fast approaches, and changes they make will have to be approved by the House, which already passed a version of the legislation one month ago.
“These are speed bumps along the way, we anticipated those and so we have contingency plans. Obviously, you have to adjust the timing and schedule a little bit, but we’re moving forward,” Thune said, per Punchbowl News.
In years past, some Democrats also called for MacDonough to be overruled or fired after rulings in the reconciliation process did not go their way, like after the parliamentarian rejected a proposed minimum-wage increase in 2021 when they controlled the Senate and Joe Biden was president.
One GOP lawmaker in the House, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), pointed out that Republicans did fire the parliamentarian in 2001 in a similar clash over budgetary matters and encouraged Thune to remove MacDonough from her perch now.
“This is not about partisanship, it is about rule of law. She has failed to apply the rules of reconciliation accurately on multiple occasions,” Crenshaw said on X, adding that “the current parliamentarian has shown clear political bias, applying ideology and not the rules of the Senate.”
Crenshaw took particular issue with the parliamentarian’s ruling against his own proposal.
“There are many examples of this so far, but today was the final red line for me. She struck my provision that stops federal funding for gender transition procedures, claiming it doesn’t have budgetary impact and therefore is “out of order,” Crenshaw said. “The FACT is this provision absolutely has a direct budgetary impact. It amends Section 1903(i) of the Social Security Act, which governs federal payments under Medicaid. So MacDonough’s claim that it’s noncompliant on procedural grounds is absolutely wrong.”
He concluded: “This is bigger than one provision. It’s about the sanctity of the rules and laws we follow, and the importance of the position of the Head Parliamentarian, who must be an objective non-partisan who applies the rules with consistency, not ideology.”