{"id":2453229,"date":"2025-06-28T07:37:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T11:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-neither-party-is-willing-to-oust-senate-parliamentarian\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T07:39:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T11:39:22","slug":"why-neither-party-is-willing-to-oust-senate-parliamentarian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-neither-party-is-willing-to-oust-senate-parliamentarian\/","title":{"rendered":"Why neither party is willing to oust Senate parliamentarian"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-neither-party-is-willing-to-oust-senate-parliamentarian%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2453229&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the complex and ofen contentious relationship that U.S. lawmakers have with the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, particularly amid efforts to advance President Donald Trump&#8217;s tax and spending bills.Despite pressure from some conservatives to sideline or remove MacDonough for her rulings against various provisions, Senate leaders from both parties caution against such a move. They argue that her expertise is vital, and removing her could spark retaliatory actions when the majority shifts, hampering legislative progress.<\/p>\n<p>MacDonough, who has been in her position since 2012 and has extensive experience, is respected across party lines for her nonpartisan interpretation of Senate rules, particularly the Byrd Rule, which restricts non-budgetary provisions in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-freedom-caucus-holds-press-conference-on-infrastructure-budget-resolution\/\" title=\"House Freedom Caucus holds press conference on infrastructure, budget resolution\">budget reconciliation bills<\/a>. While Trump has navigated his frustrations with her rulings cautiously, louder calls for her ouster have emerged, notably from House Republicans and some Senate colleagues. The overarching sentiment, however, remains that protecting the parliamentarian&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >role serves long-term legislative interests<\/a> and stability in the Senate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Why neither party is willing to run the Senate parliamentarian out of town<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2159123\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Lawmakers&rsquo; love-hate relationship with a little-known but powerful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Senate\">Senate<\/a> official is in full swing as Republicans scramble to advance President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s tax and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3456876\/senate-aspirational-saturday-vote-trump-big-beautiful-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"spending bill\">spending bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Senate leaders and aides in both parties see only downside to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3455156\/john-thune-rejects-gop-calls-sideline-senate-parliamentarian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"sidelining Senate Parliamentarian\">sidelining Senate Parliamentarian<\/a> Elizabeth MacDonough, even as conservatives call for her ouster for vetoing myriad provisions in Trump&rsquo;s sprawling domestic policy agenda that she says violate rules governing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vote-on-trump-tax-bill-risks-delay-as-thune-battles-senate-holdouts\/\" title=\"Vote on ... risks delay as ... battles ... holdouts\">filibuster-skirting bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3455423\/war-powers-vote-limit-trump-military-authority-fails-senate\/\">War powers resolution to limit Trump&#8217;s military authority fails on Senate floor<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3456876\/senate-aspirational-saturday-vote-trump-big-beautiful-bill\/\">Senate barrels toward &lsquo;aspirational&rsquo; Saturday vote on Trump&rsquo;s &lsquo;big, beautiful bill&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3456066\/senate-parliamentarian-strikes-school-vouchers-gun-provisions-trump-tax-bill\/\">Senate parliamentarian strikes school vouchers and gun provisions from Trump tax bill<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Her expertise as the Senate&rsquo;s interpreter of arcane chamber rules cannot be easily replaced with a party loyalist, and her day-to-day duties are nonpartisan in nature, even if she was appointed in 2012 by then-Democratic Leader Harry Reid.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, senators warn that a snowball of retaliation would ensue whenever a new majority comes to power if either party were to remove or overrule her.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done,&rdquo; Senate Majority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"John Thune\">John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) said in response to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"GOP\">GOP<\/a> calls for him to use his authority and fire MacDonough.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-schumer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Chuck Schumer\">Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) praised MacDonough for doing &ldquo;a right down the middle, fair, on-the-level job. I think she has the respect of people who go argue before her,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, MacDonough was a Senate staffer for more than 25 years before her position as Senate parliamentarian, serving under three presidents and four majority leaders of both parties. She&rsquo;s generally seen by Republican and Democratic senators as a fair arbiter over her most controversial duty, which is ruling on what violates the Byrd Rule in the budget reconciliation. The rules bar &ldquo;extraneous&rdquo; non-budget policies and require all language to have a direct fiscal effect.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has taken a measured approach with MacDonough, even as she&rsquo;s forced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3455275\/byrd-droppings-trump-tax-bill-provisions-ruled-out-senate-parliamentarian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">dozens of GOP provisions<\/a> to be altered or stripped entirely from his bill. The Senate GOP&rsquo;s strategy was to be overly aggressive in their policy goals with the acute understanding they&rsquo;ll likely need to be pared back to comply.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The parliamentarian has been a little difficult, and I would say that I disagree with the parliamentarian on some things and on other ways she&rsquo;s been fine,&rdquo; Trump told reporters. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ll have to see. It&rsquo;s a big issue.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough watches during the certification of Electoral College ballots in the presidential election, in the House chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, MacDonough holds immense power for an unelected official and is not term-limited, frustrating other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republicans\">Republicans<\/a>. Trump&rsquo;s neutral position stood in stark contrast to some in his party, such as Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS), who&rsquo;ve demanded MacDonough be ousted. House Republicans have been even more vocal in calling for her removal.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We took the majority. It&rsquo;s just my belief you change the team and put a team in you&rsquo;re comfortable with,&rdquo; Tuberville, the former head football coach at Auburn and other elite universities, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Whether they go with you or not, you feel better about it at the end of the day.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Senate GOP leadership has repeatedly tussled with MacDonough in recent months, even before the tensions with Trump&rsquo;s legislation.<\/p>\n<p>They butted heads in April, when Republicans used floor procedure to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3366654\/senate-weighs-sidestepping-parliamentarian-budget-reconciliation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defer<\/a>&nbsp;to Senate Budget Committee Chairman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lindsey-graham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Lindsey Graham\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC) on using &ldquo;current policy baseline,&rdquo; a novel scoring method the GOP is using to treat trillions in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-big-beautiful-bill-is-getting-much-worse-in-the-senate-thanks-to-challenges-from-democrats\/\" title=\"The &#039;Big, Beautiful ...&#039; Is Getting Much Worse in the ... Thanks to Challenges from Democrats\">tax cut extensions<\/a> as cost-free. Republicans also used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thune-rejects-gop-calls-to-sideline-senate-parliamentarian\/\" title=\"... rejects ... to sideline ...\">elaborate floor maneuvering<\/a> in May to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3406966\/why-repealing-california-ev-mandate-dividing-senate-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">sidestep MacDonough<\/a> and repeal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"California\">California<\/a>&rsquo;s electric vehicle mandate.<\/p>\n<p>Graham, as has Thune, reaffirmed Republicans &ldquo;will abide by&rdquo; the parliamentarian&rsquo;s rulings, which could be overridden with a simple majority vote. But on a forthcoming ruling from MacDonough on the current policy baseline, Graham insisted &ldquo;she&rsquo;s not going to overrule that&rdquo; because it&rsquo;s &ldquo;my decision.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Just as the modern-day willingness to protect the parliamentarian cuts across party lines, so too do the visceral frustrations that date back decades. The last time a parliamentarian was ousted was in 2001, when Republicans&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/05\/08\/us\/rules-keeper-is-dismissed-by-senate-official-says.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dismissed<\/a>&nbsp;Robert Dove for alleged &ldquo;inconsistent&rdquo; decision-making.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3455275\/byrd-droppings-trump-tax-bill-provisions-ruled-out-senate-parliamentarian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">BYRD DROPPINGS: TRUMP TAX BILL PROVISIONS RULED OUT BY SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Under then-President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joe Biden\">Joe Biden<\/a> in 2021, MacDonough faced similar wrath and demands for her firing from the Left for striking provisions, including a $15 minimum wage. Schumer ultimately rebuffed such suggestions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s leadership&rsquo;s decision. They live or die with it,&rdquo; Tuberville said. &ldquo;I think this could have been a better bill, had we had it had a lot of these things in there that she kicked out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>David Sivak contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2159123\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2159123\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why both parties hesitate to dismiss the Senate parliamentarian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2453230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/senate-parliamentarian.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[48008,35802,32504,3740],"class_list":["post-2453229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-parliamentarian","tag-party-politics","tag-political-strategy","tag-senate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/senate-parliamentarian.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2453229"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2453233,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453229\/revisions\/2453233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2453230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}