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From Fox News: A controversial change to the Medicaid provider tax rate in Senate Republicans’ version of the “big, beautiful bill” has been knocked out by Senate rules.
Senate Budget Committee Democrats announced on Thursday that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against a slew of core provisions within President Donald Trump’s colossal bill, including tweaks to Medicaid that divided Republicans in the upper chamber.
Indeed, MacDonough ruled that the harsher Medicaid provider tax rate crackdown in the Senate’s version of the bill did not comport with the Byrd Rule, which provides guardrails for the budget reconciliation process.
That ruling and the stripping out of other provisions that included denying states Medicaid funding for having illegal immigrants on the benefit rolls, preventing illegal immigrants from participating in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and preventing Medicaid and CHIP funding from going toward gender-affirming care, among others, has gutted many of Republicans’ key cost-saving Medicaid changes and likely set back their plan to put the mammoth bill on Trump’s desk by July 4.
Senate Democrats vowed to inflict as much pain as possible on Republicans through the “Byrd Bath,” where provisions are gone through line-by-line to see whether they comply with the Byrd Rule.
Senate parlimentarian ruled against several Medicaid/ACA reconciliation provisions from Finance Cmte GOP in violation of Byrd Rule including prohibiting Medicaid funding for gender affirming care & blocking federal funding to states for Medicaid coverage for certain immigrants… https://t.co/xSxUlNfYT3
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) June 26, 2025
🚨 The Senate parliamentarian just disqualified a bunch of provisions from the GOP bill — including Medicaid provider tax language, funding restrictions based on immigration status, spread pricing and one prohibition on gender-affirming care. List via a Democratic budget aide: pic.twitter.com/nIUCoBNeTh
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 26, 2025
Rep. Greg Stuebe (R-Fla.) blasted MacDonough, pointing out that she’s not even an elected official, and should be fired. He wrote:
“How is it that an unelected swamp bureaucrat, who was appointed by Harry Reid over a decade ago, gets to decide what can and cannot go in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill? The Senate Parliamentarian is not elected. She is not accountable to the American people. Yet she holds veto power over legislation supported by millions of voters.
“It is time for our elected leaders to take back control. @JDVance should overrule the Parliamentarian and let the will of the people, not some staffer hiding behind Senate procedure, determine the future of this country.”
“@LeaderJohnThune should fire Elizabeth Macdonough,” Steube added.
.@LeaderJohnThune should fire Elizabeth Macdonough https://t.co/ZIu7b1q7wL
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) June 26, 2025
🚨 BREAKING – DEVASTATING BLOW: Unelected Harry Reid-appointed Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough just STRUCK DOWN the DEFUNDING OF MEDICAID FOR ILLEGALS in the Big Beautiful Bill…AND defunding “gender-affirming care” under Medicaid and CHIP!
No, I am not joking! A… pic.twitter.com/wAaEH6X6qX
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 26, 2025
Conservatives have been calling for MacDonough to be fired for days.
Chad Prather wrote, “I voted for Trump. I voted for Vance. I voted for MAGA. I didn’t vote for deep state Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to cut every MAGA campaign promise from the Big Beautiful Bill.”
I voted for Trump.
I voted for Vance.
I voted for MAGA.
I didn’t vote for deep state Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to cut every MAGA campaign promise from the Big Beautiful Bill.
Thank you, have a nice day.
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) June 24, 2025
Why hasn’t @LeaderJohnThune fired Elizabeth Macdonough yet?
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) June 26, 2025
Meet Elizabeth MacDonough.
She is the Senate Parliamentarian.
Not one American voted for her.
But she is attempting to legislate for Americans.
She wants to deny the American the mandate we voted for. pic.twitter.com/nmwDOtS1rN
— C3 (@C_3C_3) June 26, 2025
The Senate Parliamentarian functions purely as an advisory role. She can be legally ignored, and the Parliamentarian has been overruled before.
She’s a leech from the corpse of Assault Weapons ban supporting Harry Reid.
If she slashes the NFA TAX reforms, she must be ignored. pic.twitter.com/98lbcqiu2A
— National Association for Gun Rights (@NatlGunRights) June 23, 2025
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