Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Republican, has ignited a firestorm by demanding the immediate ouster of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough after her bombshell ruling against a major GOP proposal.
The Hill reported that on Thursday, Tuberville unleashed his frustration on the social media platform X, decrying MacDonough’s decision to block a Republican plan to cut billions in federal Medicaid spending to bolster President Trump’s tax priorities, while also rejecting provisions targeting funding for unauthorized migrants.
This saga unfolded just hours after MacDonough, who has served as Senate Parliamentarian since 2012, ruled against slashing massive Medicaid funds, a move central to the GOP’s strategy to offset tax cuts.
Tuberville didn’t mince words on X, blasting what he sees as overreach by an unelected official pushing a progressive agenda. “Her job is not to push a woke agenda,” he declared with characteristic bluntness. One might wonder if this is less about policy and more about signaling to a base fed up with bureaucratic roadblocks.
MacDonough’s ruling didn’t stop at Medicaid cuts; she also struck down measures to bar federal funding for Medicaid and CHIP for those whose immigration status isn’t immediately verifiable.
Additionally, she rejected a provision to reduce federal support for states offering Medicaid to unauthorized migrants. It’s a triple whammy that has conservatives grinding their teeth.
The parliamentarian’s role, for those unfamiliar, is to ensure budget reconciliation bills—used by Senate Republicans here to dodge a Democratic filibuster—comply with the Byrd rule, focusing strictly on budgetary impacts.
MacDonough, the first woman in this position and the sixth overall, has a decade of experience in the office before taking the helm. Yet, her latest call has some questioning whether the rulebook is being wielded as a weapon.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, speaking to reporters Thursday morning, took a more measured tone, refusing to entertain a simple-majority vote to override MacDonough’s decision. “That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done,” Thune noted. He’s playing the long game, avoiding a procedural showdown that could derail everything.
Thune also downplayed the ruling’s impact, insisting it’s not a fatal blow to the legislation, despite the Medicaid cut being the bill’s largest proposed saving. “There are other ways of getting to that same outcome,” he assured. Optimism or wishful thinking? Time will tell.
Meanwhile, a Senate GOP source hinted at a workaround, telling reporters they’re already retooling the provisions to fit within the reconciliation framework.
“This is not as fatal as Dems are portraying it to be,” the source argued. It’s a classic pivot, but one wonders if the core savings can truly be salvaged.
Not every Republican is reaching for the pitchforks alongside Tuberville. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana expressed respect for MacDonough, telling reporters, “I think that she’s very fair.” His confidence that she won’t be fired suggests a party not fully united on this crusade.
Kennedy’s calm contrasts sharply with Tuberville’s heat, highlighting a divide between those who see MacDonough as a fair arbiter and those who view her as an obstacle to conservative priorities. It’s a tension that could simmer as the bill progresses.
Thune, for his part, admitted the GOP pushed hard for these savings, knowing the parliamentarian’s ruling was a gamble. “We didn’t know for sure how she was going to come down on it,” he conceded. A calculated risk, perhaps, but one that’s left the party scrambling.
At the heart of this dust-up is a Republican bill leveraging budget reconciliation rules to sidestep a Democratic filibuster, a tactic that demands strict adherence to budgetary focus under the Byrd rule. MacDonough’s rulings have thrown a wrench into plans to redirect Medicaid funds, especially those tied to controversial immigration policies.