President Donald Trump is pushing Senate Republicans to fire the person who decides which rules the Senate must follow.
On Wednesday, Trump publicly called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to remove Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough. The parliamentarian acts like a referee. Her job is to read bills and decide if they follow strict congressional budget rules.
Trump wants her replaced because she blocked his request for $1 billion. Trump wanted that money to give the Secret Service more security while building the new White House ballroom.
MacDonough ruled that the security money broke the “Byrd Rule.” This rule says that anything put into a special type of budget bill must have a direct impact on federal spending. She said the Secret Service rule was put into the bill by the wrong committee, so it was disqualified.
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Trump expressed his anger on his social media site, Truth Social.
“Shockingly, Republicans have kept the very important position of ‘Parliamentarian’ in the hands of a woman, Elizabeth MacDonough, who was appointed, long ago, by Barack Hussein Obama and a vicious Lunatic known as Senator Harry Reid,” Trump wrote. He added that she has been “brutal to Republicans” and asked, “So why has she not been replaced?”
Trump also said Republicans need to pass a voting law called the SAVE America Act and get rid of the Senate filibuster, which is a rule that requires 60 votes to pass most laws. “Get smart and tough Republicans, or you’ll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible!” Trump wrote.
MacDonough has been in her job since 2012, when she was appointed by former Democratic Leader Harry Reid.
Lately, she has blocked several parts of a new $72 billion Republican immigration package. On Friday, she ruled that four parts of that bill broke the budget rules. Those parts included funding for the Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security, and money to screen migrant children who travel without parents.
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Last year, in June 2025, she also told Republicans to remove several banking and environmental rules from a different budget proposal.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Trump’s statements were worrying.
“Obviously, it’s concerning when anybody gets targeted like that. But it’s, I guess, his opinion,” Thune said. He added that the Senate would make sure everyone stays safe.
Thune’s spokesperson, Ryan Wrasse, wrote on social media that this kind of ruling happens all the time when writing budget bills.
“Redraft. Refine. Resubmit. None of this is abnormal,” Wrasse said.
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