Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has delivered a crushing blow to President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda, forcing Senate Republicans to strip 47 provisions from the president’s comprehensive legislative package.
The unelected official’s rulings have effectively gutted major portions of what Trump has called his “one big, beautiful” bill.
MacDonough advised Senate Republicans that significant Medicaid reforms must be removed from the landmark legislation to comply with strict budget reconciliation rules.
The parliamentarian’s decisions have forced GOP lawmakers back to the drawing board to rewrite substantial sections of their proposal.
The scope of MacDonough’s intervention represents an unprecedented challenge to Republican legislative priorities.
Her rulings have touched virtually every aspect of the bill, from healthcare provisions to immigration enforcement measures that formed the cornerstone of Trump’s campaign promises.
Among the healthcare provisions MacDonough struck from the bill are measures prohibiting federal Medicaid funding for sex change procedures.
The parliamentarian also eliminated language that would have denied federal Medicaid funding to states providing coverage for certain noncitizens.
Additional provisions removed include reducing federal Medicaid expenditures for the Obamacare expansion population in states offering free healthcare to illegal immigrants.
These cuts represented core conservative priorities that Republicans had fought to include in the legislation.
The elimination of these Medicaid reforms strikes at the heart of conservative healthcare policy objectives.
Republicans had viewed these provisions as essential tools for reducing government spending while ensuring taxpayer funds align with traditional values.
The parliamentarian’s extensive rulings have sparked outrage among conservative lawmakers who championed these provisions.
Rep. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) became the first GOP senator to publicly demand MacDonough’s removal from her position
Tuberville accused MacDonough of deliberately undermining the president’s agenda in a post on social media platform X Thursday.
MacDonough serves as an appointee of the late former Sen. Leader Harry Reid (D).
She previously provided advice to former Vice President Al Gore on Senate procedural matters before assuming her current role, according to Daily Caller reporting.
MacDonough now wields enormous power over the budget reconciliation process.
This procedure allows Republican senators to bypass Democratic opposition by passing tax and spending legislation with a simple majority vote.
Provisions that MacDonough determines violate budget rules become subject to a 60-vote threshold for passage.
This effectively forces Republicans to remove those proposals from their budget legislation or face certain defeat in the Democratic-controlled chamber.
The 60-vote requirement represents an insurmountable obstacle for Republicans in the current Senate composition.
Democrats have shown no inclination to support conservative policy initiatives, making MacDonough’s rulings tantamount to legislative death sentences.
Despite facing nearly 50 adverse rulings against the Senate bill, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) remains steadfast in refusing to challenge MacDonough’s authority.
Thune’s deference to MacDonough has frustrated conservative activists who view his approach as capitulation to Democratic obstruction tactics.
They argue that Republicans should use their majority power to advance conservative priorities regardless of parliamentarian objections.
“That would not be a good outcome,” Thune stated Thursday morning when asked about potentially overruling MacDonough’s rulings on key Medicaid proposals.
The majority leader had previously told reporters he would not challenge the parliamentarian regardless of her rulings.
