Trump urges Senate GOP to overrule parliamentarian

President Trump urged Senate Republicans on Sunday to overrule the chamber’s parliamentarian in order to pass key parts of his sweeping domestic policy bill.In a Sunday post on Truth Social, the president backed a call from Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and other GOP hardliners to ignore rulings from Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough. “Great Congressman Greg Steube is 100% correct. An unelected Senate staffer (Parliamentarian) should not be allowed to hurt the Republicans’ bill. Wants many fantastic things out. NO! DJT,” Trump wrote.The parliamentarian is the nonpartisan Senate official responsible for determining whether provisions in bills meant to be passed through budget reconciliation comply with the rules governing that process.Budget reconciliation bills can pass the Senate with simple majorities, bypassing the filibuster. However, these provisions must follow specific instructions in a budget resolution and cannot expand the deficit beyond the window laid out in the bill.Hardline conservatives were furious after MacDonough’s decision on Thursday to reject key Medicaid cuts in the Senate version of Trump’s major policy bill, and an increasing number of Republicans in both chambers have been pressuring their colleagues to challenge the parliamentarian’s ruling directly on the Senate floor. “How is it that an unelected swamp bureaucrat, appointed by [former Sen.] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] over a decade ago, gets to decide what can and cannot go in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill?” Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) wrote on social platform X. “The Senate Parliamentarian is not elected. She is not accountable to the American people. Yet she holds veto power over legislation supported by millions of voters,” he added.Overturning the parliamentarian would require support from at least 51 senators. The senator presiding over the chamber, known as the chair, could issue a ruling contrary to the parliamentarian’s advice, which would then need to be sustained by 51 votes to move forward.Senators in both parties have, at times, called for overruling the parliamentarian. In 2022, Democrats tried to overrule MacDonough while advancing their signature Inflation Reduction Act.MacDonough was first appointed Senate parliamentarian in 2012, becoming the first woman to hold the position when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) elevated her.The Senate narrowly advanced the bill on Saturday night after rewriting key sections to address MacDonough’s concerns, clearing a significant hurdle before final passage.Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have pushed their Republican colleagues to meet with the parliamentarian to resolve the crucial procedural question of whether extending Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts would add to future federal deficits.Democrats say Republicans have “flat-out refused” to engage in these discussions, The Hill reported.The partisan battle over how to “score” the budgetary impact of making the 2017 tax cuts permanent could determine whether Senate Republicans would need to rewrite the sprawling 940-page bill on the Senate floor.Democrats must decide whether to force Republicans to obtain a parliamentarian ruling Monday on whether making the 2017 tax cuts permanent would violate Senate rules. An adverse ruling on the issue could derail the bill, but Republicans remain confident that won’t happen.