The big, beautiful bill had a tough week, as the Senate parliamentarian made numerous cuts to the bill, more specifically on the Medicaid measures to trim spending.
Now, Republicans in both the House and Senate are calling for her cuts to either be overridden or to be removed altogether.
The parliamentarian serves at the will and pleasure of the Senate majority leader, but is drastic action in response to her decisions really a route the GOP wants to go down after its defense of Elon Musk's former role within the Trump administration?
The cuts made to the spending bill by the Parliamentarian have the GOP throwing fits, but I wonder if they realize how much stricter the rules are when reconciliation is being used or not.
Virtually every spending bill that has gone through reconciliation in the past has had provisions removed for this reason, so this is not out of the ordinary. It is up to members of Congress to craft the legislation to ensure it can pass this scrutiny.
That did not stop Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) from unleashing, as he stated, "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."
His argument is ridiculous, as that was the same rant that Democrats used to try to have Elon Musk removed from DOGE, which had the GOP in an uproar defending Musk.
This is not a good look for Republicans, especially after the defense they used to push back against Democrats’ attacks against Musk.
For instance, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated, “Now, no one elected Elon Musk to nothing. Not one Democrat in America voted for Elon Musk. Not one Republican in America voted for Elon Musk."
She added, “Not one Independent in America voted for Elon Musk. Not one Libertarian voted for Elon Musk. Damn, not one vegetarian in America voted for Elon Musk. And yet, Elon Musk is seizing the power that belongs to the American people. We are here to fight back.”
I defended Musk against this attack, stating that out of the millions of employees in the federal government, there were only a total of 536 people who were elected, 537 if you count the VP. The rest have been appointed or hired, and many of them are influencing policy at some level. It's just not a valid attack.
There are also members of the Senate fuming over this, with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) leading that charge, having stated, “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.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) can remove her if he desires, as this position serves at the will and pleasure of the majority leader, but Thune does not appear to be inclined to do so. However, that could change if Trump picks up the phone.
When Thune was asked about overruling the parliamentarian, he responded, “No. That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done.”
I agree... as it would only open the door for more attacks. I think the GOP needs to work with her to craft the legislation that would enable these cuts, then possibly consider replacing her at a later date. If the GOP removes her now, it will do nothing but fuel Democrat attacks for the 2026 race, possibly resulting in the flipping of the House.
