Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has begun hacking away at President Donald Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill as Republicans seek to shore up support, The Hill reported. The finalized bill could pass budget reconciliation before the Independence Day holiday.
The parliamentarian took issue with key provisions of the bill, which will need to be tweaked to pass the legislation. MacDonough claimed some parts of the bill violated the Byrd Rule, which would preclude it from passing the Senate with a simple majority vote.
Some of the provisions on the chopping block include allowing states to enforce immigration and border security, cutting funding to or eliminating some agencies. MacDonough's involvement in this process has caused a stir on social media, with one user on X, formerly Twitter, calling her one of the "deep state plants."
🚨 BREAKING:
Unelected Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is TRYING TO KILL THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.@JDVance Reject This!
Only 9 years in the last 90 have Republicans had the House, Senate and Presidency. We have NO time to waste on deep state plants. pic.twitter.com/hk7jNbfAbm
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) June 23, 2025
The Byrd Rule enables a budget reconciliation to pass with fewer votes while streamlining the process and preventing a filibuster. However, there are some stopgap exceptions to the rule, for which MacDonough and others have flagged Trump's bill.
One of the provisions MacDonough took exception to was a deal for newly hired civil servants to face a higher contribution rate in the Federal Employees Retirement System if they don't sign on to become at-will employees. This is a cost-saving measure, but one that the MacDonough felt would not pass muster.
Predictably, Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley was an outspoken opponent of this particular provision. "There is no better way to define this Big Beautiful Betrayal of a bill than families lose, and billionaires win," Merkley claimed in a statement.
Democrats are on the side of families and workers and are scrutinizing this bill piece by piece to ensure Republicans can’t use the reconciliation process to force their anti-worker policies on the American people. The Byrd Rule is enshrined in law for a reason, and Democrats are making sure it is enforced," he added.
Meanwhile, a Republican source told Fox News that the cuts are detrimental to the bill's passage. "There still must be some conservative wins coming out of the Senate. Those conservative wins were cut by the parliamentarian," the unnamed source noted.
While many object to McDonough's cuts, they are a necessary part of trying to pass this massive bill in the Senate under the current rules. Republicans have a narrow 53-seat majority compared to Democrats' 47 seats.
If they get too many downvotes, the bill would have to go back to the drawing board, or at least face substantial changes. The Senate will recess for the Independence Day holiday next week, and lawmakers are rushing to get this through before then.
With budget reconciliation, the bill could fly through the Senate, requiring only 51 votes instead of the usual 60, which would work to Republicans' advantage. However, that might not be as simple as it sounds, even with a GOP majority.
"They’re a long way away from the finish line right now," a source close to the matter told Fox News. It's possible the fight goes through the weekend with an early morning vote on Monday, but it's still anyone's guess whether it's passed before the break.
The legislation is already being picked apart, but significant changes could compromise the entire bill's passage. This could be the make-or-break time for Trump's signature legislation.
