President Donald Trump is demanding that Senate Republicans defy Senate rules and ignore a top procedural official who’s standing in the way of his massive policy agenda.
In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump threw his full support behind Florida Rep. Greg Steube and other far-right Republicans who want to overrule Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough.
“Great Congressman Greg Steube is 100% correct. An unelected Senate Staffer (Parliamentarian), should not be allowed to hurt the Republicans Bill. Wants many fantastic things out. NO! DJT,” Trump wrote.
The parliamentarian’s job is to interpret Senate rules—especially when it comes to budget bills that can bypass the filibuster. Her recent ruling blocked several key parts of Trump’s bill, including cuts to Medicaid.
That ruling set off hardliners in both chambers of Congress. Steube blasted MacDonough on social media, saying: “How is it that an unelected swamp bureaucrat, who was appointed by [former Sen.] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] over a decade ago, gets to decide what can and cannot go in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill?”
He added, “The Senate Parliamentarian is not elected. She is not accountable to the American people. Yet she holds veto power over legislation supported by millions of voters.”
Trump’s allies want Senate Republicans to ignore her ruling and vote to move forward anyway. That would take 51 senators agreeing to overrule her on the floor—something that’s rarely done but not without precedent.
Democrats tried a similar move in 2022 when they were pushing their Inflation Reduction Act. They failed.
Still, pressure is growing on Republican senators to override MacDonough. So far, GOP leadership has tried to work around her rulings instead. Over the weekend, they rewrote parts of the bill to keep it moving forward after she blocked certain provisions.
But Trump wants more. He wants Republicans to reject the rules and push the bill through no matter what.
Meanwhile, Democrats are accusing Republicans of dodging important budget questions—especially around Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which they now want to make permanent.
Democrats say Republicans have “flat-out refused” to meet with the parliamentarian about whether those tax cuts break budget rules by increasing the deficit.
That ruling could come as early as Monday. If the parliamentarian says no, it could derail the bill. But Republicans seem ready to press on—rules or not.
