Senate Republicans Debate Removal of Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough

Republican aides say momentum is building to replace Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough after she rejected a $1 billion White House ballroom allocation and blocked key provisions of the SAVE America Act, a voting-reform bill that would require citizenship proof for registration and photo ID for voting. President Donald Trump denounced MacDonough as partisan on Truth Social. The debate also involves Sen. John Cornyn, who now backs rule changes to pass the bill, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has not discussed removing the parliamentarian.

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The parliamentarian applies the Byrd Rule, which limits items eligible for budget-reconciliation. MacDonough’s decisions have allowed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to drop the Affordable Care Act individual-mandate penalty, authorized drilling on 1.5 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and approved a $1,700 tax credit for scholarship donations under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. She also ruled on the SAVE America Act.

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Sen. Thune said disputes over the parliamentarian’s decisions are routine during reconciliation and noted he has had no talks about replacing her. In an op-ed, Sen. Cornyn backed Senate-rule changes to pass the SAVE America Act and homeland-security funding.

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President Trump’s Truth Social post accused MacDonough of bias, citing her 2013 appointment by Harry Reid. Anonymous GOP aides describe a “fire-the-parliamentarian” group urging dismissal “day one,” warning that removal could let Democrats install a partisan successor.

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Some aides say a “large portion” of the conference favors dismissal, while senior aides call the narrative “wishcasting,” citing MacDonough’s fair-ruling record. The split pits MAGA-aligned senators against those wary of procedural upheaval.

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• “The fire-the-parliamentarian group is growing. There are quite a few members now who are saying, ‘We should have fired her day one,’” — Senate Republican aide (anonymous)

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• “She’s been fair even if she doesn’t agree with everything you argue,” — senior Senate GOP aide

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• “I support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary to get the SAVE America Act and homeland security funding past the Democrats’ obstruction.” — Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas

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• “The question around the parliamentarian is one that happens every time there’s a reconciliation bill considered here — whether it’s a Democrat majority or a Republican majority. And there are always people unhappy with some of the decisions that come down. That’s the nature of the beast,” — Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota

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Trump-backed candidates may run in Texas primaries on a platform to challenge MacDonough. Thune signals no immediate plan to replace her, leaving the dispute unresolved as the GOP navigates internal divisions.

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