GOP senator calls for parliamentarian's firing after serving Medicaid blow to Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'

Fox News

a day ago

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to see the Senate parliamentarian fired and plans to introduce a resolution that would require the position to be term-limited.
Fury erupted among conservatives Thursday morning following the news that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled several key reforms and tweaks to Medicaid in the Senate GOP's version of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" did not pass muster with Senate rules.
That means that the current provisions that do not comply with the Byrd Rule must be stripped, but Republicans can still scramble to rewrite and resubmit the policy to the parliamentarian.
However, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., wants immediate action taken against the parliamentarian.
"In 2001, Majority Leader Trent Lott fired the Senate parliamentarian during reconciliation," Marshall told Fox News Digital. "It's 2025 during reconciliation, and we need to again fire the Senate parliamentarian."
He argued that, based upon early reports, the parliamentarian's rulings against myriad provisions in the bill may erase up to $500 billion in spending cuts, which could hamper the bill's survival among fiscal hawks and miss the goal of hitting up to $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has made clear that he did not intend to overrule the parliamentarian. Fox News Digital reached out to the top Senate Republican for comment.
Marshall, like other congressional Republicans, was particularly incensed over the parliamentarian's rulings that gutted numerous changes Senate Republicans made to the widely-used Medicaid program that triggered conservatives.
Among the axed provisions was the Senate GOP's harsher crackdown on the Medicaid provider rate, or the amount that state Medicaid programs pay to providers on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries, which proved a divisive policy among some in the conference.
Other provisions that were nixed included denying states Medicaid funding for having illegal immigrants on the benefit rolls, preventing illegal immigrants from participating in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and preventing Medicaid and CHIP funding from going toward gender-affirming care.
Republicans viewed those as key cost-saving changes, and their removal has likely set back their plan to put the mammoth bill on Trump's desk by July 4.
The parliamentarian is chosen by the Senate majority leader and serves without term limits in the role.
Marshall wants to put an end to that practice and plans to introduce a resolution on Thursday that would only be allowed to serve one, six-year term.
"The current parliamentarian has been in office since 2012, appointed by Harry Reid," Marshall said. "This is NOT an elected position. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Term limits on a person with this absolute power need be implemented."