Republicans Urge Thune To Fire Senate Parliamentarian After She Axes Key Provisions of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill

Republicans in Congress are calling on Senator Thune to fire the Senate’s parliamentarian, who on Thursday killed some key healthcare provisions of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The parliamentarian is the key procedural officer who decides which legislative items are subject to a 60-vote threshold. The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, first joined the Senate parliamentarian’s office staff in 1999 before being appointed to her current job by the then-majority leader, Senator Reid, in 2012. At the time, she was praised by her Republican-appointed predecessor, Alan Frumin. Mr. Thune himself also praised her at the time, saying she was “steeped in the traditions of the Senate and understands how it works here.”She and her staff have diligently been going through the process known as the “Byrd Bath,” in which the parliamentarian hears challenges to specific provisions of a reconciliation bill. In a reconciliation process, any legislative item that does not deal primarily with issues of revenue or spending is subjected to a 60-vote threshold. All other items require only a simple majority in order to pass. Ms. MacDonough has already ruled that a section aimed at limiting federal judges’ ability to impose and enforce injunctions and temporary restraining orders requires 60 votes. Empowering Attorney General Bondi to defund sanctuary cities also requires that higher threshold, Ms. MacDonough ruled. Reforms to SNAP — commonly known as the food stamp program — presidential authority in reorganizing executive agencies, and the sale of public lands have also been ruled to require 60 votes. Senate Republicans are trying to rework and reword some of their proposals in order to comply with Ms. MacDonough’s rulings. While that process has been playing out, lawmakers have largely been respectful of the process, allowing Ms. MacDonough to do her job. On Thursday, however, several Republicans on Capitol Hill called on Mr. Thune to fire her due to her rulings on a number of provisions related to Medicaid in the sweeping bill. Ms. MacDonough ruled on Thursday that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cannot change cost-sharing ratios with states that provide some Medicaid services to non-citizens. She also ruled that Republicans cannot include a provision that bars the use of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to pay for hormones or surgeries for transgender individuals. Shortly after Ms. MacDonough’s rulings were shared with the public by Democrats on the Budget Committee, Republicans called for her ouster. “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,” Senator Tuberville wrote on X after Ms. MacDonough’s ruling. “THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP,” he wrote.Ms. MacDonough “advised” Vice President Gore only in the sense that she was a parliamentary staffer during his time in office, so by that standard, she has been an adviser to every Republican vice president since 1999 as well.The parliamentarian serves at the pleasure of the majority leader, and holds the position either until she retires from the post or Mr. Thune fires her. Mr. Thune told reporters on Thursday that he does not plan to overrule her or dismiss her from her post. Senators Grassley and Kennedy also said Thursday that she should keep her job. Nevertheless, Republican calls for Ms. MacDonough’s ouster came from several quarters, including Senator Marshall, who noted on X that the majority leader at the time, Trent Lott, fired the parliamentarian during reconciliation procedures in 2001.“It’s 2025 during reconciliation and we need to again fire the Senate Parliamentarian,” he wrote.House conservatives joined the call for her dismissal.“It is time to FIRE the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. This is not about partisanship, it is about rule of law. She has failed to apply the rules of reconciliation accurately on multiple occasions,” Congressman Dan Crenshaw said Thursday. “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,’” he said. Congressmen Greg Steube and Randy Fine also called for Ms. MacDonough to be removed. This isn’t the first time that Ms. MacDonough has faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers. In 2021, it was Democratic lawmakers and activists who raged against her for her decision to nix several key parts of their “Build Back Better” agenda. In the “American Rescue Plan” earlier that year, she also killed a provision that would have raised the federal minimum wage to $15.

Republicans Urge Thune To Fire Senate Parliamentarian After She Axes Key Provisions of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill

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