Overview
- President Trump on Monday urged Majority Leader John Thune to “immediately fire” Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough after she barred parts of the GOP reconciliation effort from the fast‑track process.
- MacDonough had ruled that the SAVE America Act violated the Senate’s Byrd Rule and removed roughly $1 billion in Secret Service funding tied to the White House ballroom from a reconciliation bill.
- Thune pushed back publicly, saying the parliamentarian’s job is a neutral, technical one and noting that her rulings have cut both ways for Republicans and Democrats.
- Because the Byrd Rule bars nonbudget policy from reconciliation, the contested provisions cannot pass by simple majority unless they are rewritten to show a clear budgetary effect or supporters win 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
- Removing the parliamentarian would be rare and politically risky, so Republican leaders are largely pursuing redrafts and resubmissions while media outlets differ on how strongly they frame Trump’s pressure on Senate norms.