Why Thune didn’t force the GOP’s will on Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

Something happened in the Senate Monday that had a lot of people scratching their heads

Republicans introduced an amendment to President Trump's tax and budget package that would have prohibited immigrants in the U.S. illegally from receiving health care under Medicaid

It got 56 votes, a majority, but failed. Many online wondered why

Republicans were using a process called budget reconciliation to pass the budget bill

and that only requires a simple majority, not the standard 60 votes normally needed in the Senate

So why did the amendment fail? It all came down to the Senate parliamentarian

The Senate's parliamentarian determined the amendment was not directly related to the budget

and therefore needed 60 votes. That was a hard pill to swallow for some on social media

Chicago One Ray wrote, An unelected Senate parliamentarian just stopped the Senate bill from blocking illegals from getting Medicaid

Raise your hand if you want Leader Thune to dismiss Elizabeth McDonough right now or resign

Chicago One Ray is correct. Majority Leader John Thune could have fired Parliamentarian Elizabeth McDonough

or just moved to overrule her and put those measures back in the bill at a 51 threshold McDonough was following the Byrd Rule which was established in 1986 to ensure all provisions within a budget reconciliation package are directly related to federal spending

There are six guidelines used by the parliamentarian to ensure a measure complies with the

Byrd Rule. For instance, it cannot change outlays or revenues, alter Social Security

or be considered extraneous. If the parliamentarian determines a provision doesn't fit those

guidelines, it is struck under the Byrd rule and subject to a 60-vote threshold. If Thune opted to

fire McDonough and install someone more favorable to Republicans, Democrats likely would have done

the same the next time they're in the majority. If Thune overruled McDonough and put non-budget

related items back in the bill, the Democrats would have done the same the next time they're

in charge. In fact, Democrats could take it a step further and eliminate the chamber's filibuster

altogether. They tried doing that in 2022 to pass a voting rights bill, but didn't have enough votes

They have said they will try again once they got the opportunity. Thune knows the Senate is a

chamber of precedent. Once a precedent is set, it will not be undone. The current Republican majority

did not want to forever change the way the Senate operates. I'm Ray Bogan for Straight

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