Thune will not overrule Senate Parliamentarian

Elizabeth MacDonough is suddenly a household name, but I am sure she would prefer to go back to obscurity.

She is the Senate Parliamentarian who has removed provisions from the big, beautiful bill that now has the right calling for her to be fired.

Fire Her

When MacDonough announced her cuts, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) went nuclear, sounding like Senator Warren (D-MA) when she called for Musk to be fired.

He stated, “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. 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. Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.”

He's right, she is not elected, she is appointed and serves at the will and pleasure of the Senate Majority Leader, but he is making the same argument that the GOP pushed back on when Democrats were calling for Musk to be fired. There are literally thousands of unelected government officials who help craft laws, so this is just childish.

Not Firing Her

MacDonough has been in place since 2012, and she was appointed by then-Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). As Senate Majority Leader, Thune could fire her, but he is choosing not to poke that bear right now.

Thune noted that the bill can still be changed to meet the criteria required, stating, “And that’s what the President has wanted us to do, and we work closely with him and his team as we’ve gone through this process. But at the end of the day, we want to make sure that this doesn’t hurt beneficiaries.

“It doesn’t cut Medicaid. We are continuing to grow Medicaid. We’re just growing at a slower rate than what has been allowed for under the existing law, which, by the way, grew Medicaid in the last five years at 50 percent.”

He has no plans to fire or remove MacDonough, and I support that decision because the optics and precedent this would set are rather nasty. And yes, I get that most people don’t see it that way, but I always look at how we would react if Dems were doing this. The time to replace MacDonough was after taking over, not now.

Fire Her!

Rep. Greene (R-GA) was outraged when Thune made his announcement, stating, “The Senate is out of control!! How is Thune allowing this War Powers Resolution, a referendum against President Trump, tonight at 6 pm??? And Thune is allowing the Senate Parliamentarian (appointed by Harry Reid) to strip out all the MAGA provisions in the bill!!”

She later added, “Thune needs to over rule her or FIRE HER!!!” she continued. “We need leaders with courage not weak men who refuse to use their power in order to do the right thing!!!”

Here is the thing... the rules for reconciliation are strict for a reason, as one side is ramming through the legislation.

Just because I am on the side that has power does not mean I will support abusing that power, regardless of what Dems did before. We have to break this cycle, so if you want to pass the legislation, make sure it fits the prescribed guidelines, and you won’t have any problems.