President Donald Trump promised to deliver his signature legislation by July 4.
But one Washington, D.C. insider is standing in his way.
And one unelected official threw a wrench in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Republicans scrambling.
Senate Parliamentarian strikes down key Trump provisions
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough dealt a crushing blow to President Trump’s sweeping legislative package this week.
The unelected official, who was appointed by former Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, advised Senate Republicans that at least 25 provisions must be stripped from Trump’s landmark bill.
MacDonough’s rulings target some of the most important elements of the President’s agenda, including immigration enforcement provisions and federal agency reorganization authority.
The parliamentarian acts as a referee for Senate rules and determines which provisions can pass under budget reconciliation with just 51 votes.
Anything she rejects would need 60 votes to pass, effectively killing those parts of Trump’s agenda.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is trying to get a vote to push through what remains of the President’s tax and immigration priorities as soon as possible.
But MacDonough’s interference is forcing GOP senators to quickly revise major portions of the bill.
The President wanted to enact at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over a decade through this legislation.
Key provisions get the axe
MacDonough ruled that several critical provisions violate the Byrd rule, which governs budget reconciliation.
One of the biggest losses was a proposal to shift Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs to states.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that requiring states to pay at least 5% of food stamp costs would have saved taxpayers nearly $130 billion over ten years.
MacDonough also struck down language allowing states to conduct immigration enforcement – a responsibility usually claimed by the federal government.
The parliamentarian eliminated provisions to reorganize the executive branch and eliminate federal agencies without congressional oversight.
MacDonough determined that provisions requiring the federal government to sell electric vehicles and EV charging infrastructure it owns violates budget reconciliation rules.
These provisions were supposed to help cover the cost of the bill.
Democrats celebrate the sabotage
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated MacDonough’s decision to gut Trump’s bill.
Schumer framed the parliamentarian’s ruling against shifting SNAP costs to states as a "small but important win," according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
This is the same Chuck Schumer who previously expressed frustration with MacDonough when she determined that a $15 federal minimum wage hike couldn’t be included in Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan in February 2021.
Back then, Democrats complained about the parliamentarian standing in their way.
Now they’re cheering her interference with Trump’s agenda.
The tax portion of Senate Republicans’ proposal is projected to add just over $440 billion to the deficit over a ten-year period, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
With key pay-for provisions being eliminated, Republicans will have to find other ways to offset the costs.
Senate Republicans are continuing to work through final details on the proposal’s most contentious provisions, including identifying savings to Medicaid.
The clock is ticking
Thune has voiced determination to pass Trump’s sweeping legislative package by the White House’s preferred July 4 deadline.
The majority leader previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview that he would keep the Senate in session through the scheduled July 4 recess until the budget package clears the upper chamber.
But MacDonough’s continued interference is making that timeline increasingly difficult to meet.
Republican senators were always aware that some provisions could fall out of the bill, but the scope of MacDonough’s rejections is larger than expected.
The parliamentarian is likely to reject more provisions in the coming days, forcing further revisions to Trump’s landmark legislation.
This is exactly the kind of Deep State resistance that President Trump promised to eliminate.
An unelected bureaucrat appointed by Harry Reid is now single-handedly dismantling key parts of the President’s mandate from the American people.
The voters elected Trump to drain the swamp and implement his America First agenda.
But the same institutional roadblocks that plagued his first term are already rearing their ugly heads again.
Senate Republicans need to find creative ways to work around MacDonough’s obstruction if they want to deliver on Trump’s promises to the American people.
