Senate parliamentarian blocks Medicaid reforms in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

The Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who is supposed to act as a nonpartisan advisor to the Senate on procedural matters, determined that some provisions in the bill on Medicaid were not able to be approved by a simple majority in the Senate budget reconciliation process. The provision included that states would cut the tax they impose on Medicaid providers from 6 percent down to 3 percent, which would limit the amount the states get in tax revenue, per NPR. Because of this, the federal government would not be giving out as much funding to states in a joint program, saving the federal government on spending.

Other provisions that were slashed by MacDonough included some eligibility for noncitizens to get Medicaid as well as the blocking of federal funds going to the Children’s Health Insurance Program to give sex change operations to minors, per the New York Post.

“The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just STRUCK DOWN a provision BANNING illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said in a post. “This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP.”

“Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE,” he added. “Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.”

Other lawmakers sounded off on the action from the Parliamentarian. “How is it that an unelected swamp bureaucrat, who was appointed by Harry Reid over a decade ago, gets to decide what can and cannot go in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill?” Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) said.

The GOP has set a deadline of July 4 to pass the package, and the removal of the provisions by the Parliamentarian marks a new hurdle in the passage of the bill.