President Trump is now aiming his fire at one of the Senate's least visible but most powerful officials. In a Truth Social post Wednesday, the president urged Republicans to oust Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, accusing her of consistently disadvantaging the GOP in procedural rulings and calling Republicans "soft" compared to what he dubbed the "Dumocrats," the Hill reports. MacDonough, a nonpartisan referee of Senate rules who has held the job since 2012, has played a central role in deciding what can be passed through budget reconciliation, the fast-track process that bypasses the 60-vote filibuster.
- The attack on MacDonough came days after she ruled that $1 billion in security funding for Trump's ballroom project could not be included in an immigration enforcement bill Republicans are trying to pass through budget reconciliation, reports Politico.
- "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, who ran the Senate for the Dumocrats with an 'iron fist,'" Trump wrote. "Over the years, she has been brutal to Republicans, but not so to the Dumocrats — So why has she not been replaced?"
- Trump said there are "many fair people" who could take her place and renewed demands for Republicans to scrap the Senate filibuster altogether, saying they should "kill the Filibuster, which would give us everything!"
- Trump claimed that if Republicans don't end the filibuster and pass stricter voting rules, "you will never see another Republican President again." He predicted Democrats would eventually scrap the filibuster themselves, grant statehood to Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, and expand the Supreme Court to 21 justices.
Some in Trump's party have echoed his frustration: Sen. Tommy Tuberville has publicly urged GOP leaders to fire MacDonough "ASAP." Senate Majority Leader John Thune, however, has defended both the filibuster and the need to respect the parliamentarian's rulings. He told the Hill on Wednesday that while he hasn't seen Trump's latest Truth Social post, attacks on MacDonough are "concerning" and "we'll make sure everybody has enough security around here." He said the biggest obstacle to securing funding for the ballroom isn't the parliamentarian, but "vote count." Firing MacDonough, he said, could make it even harder to round up enough GOP votes for the funding.
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