GOP Senator Demands Parliamentarian’s Firing Over Trump Bill Medicaid Setback

In a fiery turn of events, a Senate Republican is gunning for the dismissal of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough after her ruling struck down critical Medicaid reforms in President Donald Trump’s much-touted "big, beautiful bill." The decision has ignited a storm among conservatives, who see the ruling as a major setback to their fiscal goals.

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas didn’t mince words, calling for the parliamentarian’s immediate firing and drawing parallels to a similar ousting in 2001 under Majority Leader Trent Lott. Marshall argues that MacDonough’s rulings could jeopardize up to $500 billion in planned spending cuts, a devastating blow to the bill’s ambition of slashing $2 trillion over the next decade. This has left fiscal hawks in the GOP fuming, with the bill’s survival now hanging in a precarious balance.

The parliamentarian’s decision, grounded in the Senate’s Byrd Rule, axed several contentious provisions, including a harsh crackdown on Medicaid provider rates and measures to block funding for states with illegal immigrants on benefit rolls. Other cuts included barring Medicaid and CHIP funds from supporting gender-affirming care—moves Republicans pitched as essential cost-saving reforms. With these provisions stripped, the GOP’s timeline to deliver the bill to Trump’s desk by July 4 looks increasingly like a pipe dream.

Adding fuel to the fire, Marshall is set to introduce a resolution to impose term limits on the parliamentarian role, capping it at a single six-year term. He pointed out that MacDonough, appointed in 2012, wields unchecked power in an unelected position. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has signaled no intention to overrule the parliamentarian, leaving the party scrambling to rewrite and resubmit policies to salvage their legislative flagship.

This clash exposes deeper rifts within the Republican ranks, as House conservatives and Senate leaders lock horns over the bill’s direction. The road ahead for Trump’s signature legislation is anything but smooth, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.