Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has declared war on major elements of President Donald Trump’s spending bill, but there are ways the White House can hit back and keep the legislation moving forward.

Punchbowl reporter Laura Weiss posted to the social media site X on Thursday that GOP Medicaid reform, which would prevent illegal aliens from being added to the rolls, had been gutted.

“BREAKING NEWS: The Senate parliamentarian just struck a massive blow to Republicans’ Medicaid cuts, per announcement from Senate Budget Dems,” Weiss wrote. “NOT compliant w/Byrd Rule (meaning they need to be stripped or overrule parl):

“-provider tax crackdown (!!!)

“-limiting fed $ for states that allow undocumented immigrants to get Medicaid

“-additional limits on Medicaid, Medicare & ACA premium tax credits for immigrants who aren’t citizens

“Parl still reviewing MUCH MORE of Finance Committee’s health text.”

BREAKING NEWS: The Senate parliamentarian just struck a massive blow to Republicans’ Medicaid cuts, per announcement from Senate Budget Dems

NOT compliant w/ Byrd Rule (meaning they need to be stripped or overrule parl):

-provider tax crackdown (!!!)
-limiting fed $ for states…

— Laura Weiss (@LauraEWeiss16) June 26, 2025

The “Byrd Rule” states that a budget bill’s contents must directly relate to spending or taxes. This is crucial, given the Republicans’ plan to pass the law as a budgetary bill, which only requires a simple majority.

There were already concerns surrounding the Senate version, which included the removal of a measure aimed at reining in federal judges who have been issuing nationwide injunctions against the federal government.

One House member, Texas Republican Chip Roy, raised concerns about the Senate taking out pieces that would have done away with harmful environmental regulations. He also accused them of hobbling food stamp reform and preventing Health Savings Account expansion.

So what can Republicans do to stop the onslaught? Daniel Horowitz, writing for The Blaze, laid out the plan for Trump.

“Let’s get something straight: The Senate parliamentarian does not make the rules,” he wrote. “The presiding officer does — and the majority party controls the chair. The office of parliamentarian didn’t even exist until 1935. The parliamentarian sits below the presiding officer on the rostrum, not above him. Her advice is just that — advice.”

And guess who the presiding officer of the Senate is? Vice President J.D. Vance.

“Vance, as president of the Senate, can overrule MacDonough at any time,” Horowitz continued. “When Democrats raise a point of order against a GOP-backed provision, MacDonough may say it violates the Byrd Rule and must be stripped. But the presiding officer — Vance or his designee — can simply say no. That provision stays in the bill. The Senate then proceeds under the reconciliation process and passes the whole thing with a simple majority.”

Sadly, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said the GOP would not make an effort to override these ridiculous changes, according to Politico.

“No, that would not be a good option for getting a bill done,” he said.

Horowitz recommended that Trump threaten to unleash Vance if Thune continues to obstruct. Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville struck a stark contrast to Thune by calling for MacDonough to be fired altogether.

“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,” he posted on X.

Horowitz explained that Thune could “demand MacDonough’s firing — just as Trent Lott did in 2001 when the parliamentarian ruled against Republican priorities.”

Trump and other lawmakers should be angry at this nonsense. They were instructed to cancel their weekend plans, along with the July 4 recess, to get a bill to the president’s desk.

These obstructionist measures cannot be allowed to continue. The parliamentarian should not be controlling national policy on such a scale. She has no mandate, no backing from the American public, and she was appointed by former far-left Sen. Harry Reid. Hardly a paradigm of the American electorate.

If Trump and his team act fast, they can prevent a major legislative loss and set a future precedent, signaling to all bureaucrats that their reign of terror has finally come to an end.

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