Trump Demands Thune Fire Parliamentarian Over $72 Billion Bill
Donald Trump said Senate Majority Leader John Thune should immediately fire Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, writing on Truth Social Monday that trump demands thune fire parliamentarian. Trump said MacDonough treats Republicans badly and should be removed at once.
The demand followed MacDonough’s recent decision to strike $1 billion in funding for the Secret Service from a $72 billion budget reconciliation bill. She also ruled that an estimated $220 million for construction of Trump’s White House ballroom fell outside the Judiciary Committee’s immigration enforcement jurisdiction.
Trump and MacDonough
Trump said MacDonough should be removed because she was appointed by a Democrat and “thus caters to Democrats.” He also wrote, “Just the other night, as an example, she ruled against us on a proposal that would have easily been approved, and should have been, by anyone else” and “We have every right to change her, and should do so, IMMEDIATELY. As long as she’s there, we will never get our desperately needed, SAVE AMERICA ACT, approved, and put into full force and effect!”
MacDonough’s role is to advise lawmakers and strike certain provisions from reconciliation bills under the Byrd rule. Her rulings can force drafters to remove or rewrite language before a bill can move forward in the Senate process.
Thune’s Byrd process
A spokesperson for Thune responded: “Redraft. Refine. Resubmit. None of this is abnormal during a Byrd process.” That response pointed back to the usual Senate workaround when provisions do not meet reconciliation rules, rather than to any immediate change in MacDonough’s position.
This was the second time Trump had lashed out at MacDonough. For Republicans trying to move the SAVE AMERICA ACT, the practical hurdle is not just the vote count; it is whether their proposals can survive the parliamentarian’s review without being stripped from the package.
Trump’s statement puts Thune under pressure to choose between backing MacDonough’s role or trying to replace the Senate’s rules referee. If MacDonough remains in place, the bill’s sponsors still have to redraft the provisions she struck and resubmit them through the Byrd process.
