Senate Parliamentarian Begins Taking an Ax to Key Conservative Priorities in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

The U.S. Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, has started taking an ax to key conservative priorities in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to Senate rules, in order to avoid requiring a 60-vote threshold, all aspects of the legislation must deal primarily with issues of revenues and spending. The “Byrd Rule” lays out the process for deciding what can and cannot be included in a reconciliation package, which requires only 51 votes for passage rather than the typical 60 votes for other legislative items. Senator Thune has been trying to strike a delicate balance between appeasing his more conservative members and keeping his moderate conference members on board.When Democrats and Republicans on the Budget Committee disagree about what does ot does not violate the Byrd Rule, they make their respective arguments to Ms. MacDonough, who then issues her ruling. The “Byrd Bath” process began over the weekend, with the Republican majority attempting to defend a litany of key conservative priorities in the bill. Ms. MacDonough has already struck some provisions from the bill, saying they deal more with policy than the issues of revenue and spending. Democrats on the Budget Committee, led by Senator Merkley, have kept a running tally of what will be taken out of the legislation. Many of the provisions were key to winning conservatives’ votes in the House, where the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by one vote. A section aimed at limiting federal judges’ ability to impose and enforce injunctions and temporary restraining orders will now be out of the bill following a ruling from the parliamentarian. President Trump and Republican allies on the Hill have been searching for ways to limit judges’ powers for months, though now it appears there is no way to accomplish such a policy change following Ms. MacDonough’s ruling. Attorney General Bondi in February issued a memo stating that “sanctuary” states and cities should not have access to federal funds for as long as they refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Grassley, tried to codify part of that policy in the reconciliation bill. Ms. MacDonough has ruled that the section does not comply with Senate rules, and must be removed from the bill or face the 60-vote threshold. Another provision from the Senate Homeland Security Committee, led by Senator Paul, would grant the president broad authority to reorganize the executive branch’s agencies. The current text of bill states that Mr. Trump can executive on a reorganization plan as long as “the plan does not result in an increase in the number of Federal agencies” and “the plan does not result in an increase in the cost to the Federal Government of operating agencies.”Ms. MacDonough has similarly ruled that the provision will be subject to a 60-vote threshold should it stay in the bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the SNAP food program, released the text of its portion of the bill earlier this month. A section in that piece of the bill would cut federal funding for states that have higher rates of erroneous payments for SNAP beneficiaries. The parliamentarian has ruled that that specific provision must be taken out of the bill or face the 60-vote floor. One controversial piece of the bill that has been allowed to remain is a 10-year moratorium on states regulating artificial intelligence. That measure has some notable conservative opponents, including Senators Hawley and Blackburn and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, among others.

Senate Parliamentarian Begins Taking an Ax to Key Conservative Priorities in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

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