Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is receiving pushback from Senate Republicans over her recent rulings regarding President Donald Trump’s latest budget reconciliation bill.
MacDonough ruled against provisions in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on Thursday that would allow for massive cuts to programs such as Medicaid. This angered Senate Republicans, who have been working to push the bill through.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Senate parliamentarian.
Background
Elizabeth MacDonough, 59, was born on Feb. 16, 1966. She grew up close to Washington, D.C., and received her bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 1988 before starting a position as a legislative reference assistant in the Senate library in 1990. She left this position to attend Vermont Law School in 1995 and received her law degree from there in 1998.
MacDonough then worked in the Department of Justice as a trial attorney who handled New Jersey immigration cases, according to her biography on the Vermont Law School website.
How long has she been parliamentarian?
MacDonough started out as an assistant parliamentarian for the Senate in May 1999 before moving up to senior assistant parliamentarian three years later. She served in this position for a decade before her promotion to Senate parliamentarian in 2012, a role she has held for 13 years.
What does she do as parliamentarian?
The Senate parliamentarian is a nonpartisan advisory position. The parliamentarian and his or her staff advise the presiding officer and senators from both parties on Senate rules, precedents, and statutes as they relate to proceedings, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The parliamentarian helps clarify any confusion or debate over Senate rules and precedents. Historically, a lot of time was wasted in such debates, so the position was established in 1935. The official is appointed by the Senate majority leader, and MacDonough is the first female parliamentarian and the sixth person to hold the position since its founding.
What is her involvement with Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’?
With a July 4 deadline to pass the bill, Republicans are scrambling to secure the votes of more fiscally conservative Republicans now that MacDonough has slashed cuts to healthcare provider taxes, federal Medicaid reimbursements, and immigrant eligibility for Medicaid. If these cuts were allowed, it’s believed they would have saved hundreds of billions of dollars.
Senate Republicans are split on their opinions of MacDonough and her recent rulings, with some calling for her removal, while others say they respect her rulings.
“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,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said in a post on X on Thursday.
OBAMACARE ABORTION FUNDING RESTRICTION NIXED FROM MEGABILL BY PARLIAMENTARIAN
“This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP. Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE,” he added. “Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.”
What could happen to her?
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said he believes members of GOP leadership respect the parliamentarian’s role and that he doesn’t believe they would try to remove her. “We all have respect for the parliamentarian,” he said, according to FOX8 WGHP. “I think that she’s very fair, and I don’t think that she should be fired, nor do I think she will be fired.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), whose role gives him the power to fire the parliamentarian if necessary, has already said he will not be pursuing actions to overrule MacDonough.