Latest news with #Parliamentarian
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Fury erupts as unelected Senate 'scorekeeper' blocks Trump's agenda
Conservative lawmakers were infuriated on Thursday morning after the Senate's de facto "scorekeeper" for President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" ruled that key parts of the GOP agenda bill must be stripped out. "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," Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., wrote on X. "It is time for our elected leaders to take back control." He called on Vice President JD Vance to "overrule the Parliamentarian and let the will of the people, not some staffer hiding behind Senate procedure, determine the future of this country." The Constitution names the vice president as president of the Senate as well, though it is a largely ceremonial role save for when they are needed to cast a tie-breaking vote in the chamber. The Senate parliamentarian is typically appointed by the Senate majority leader and serves at their pleasure, with no term limit. Their role is to make apolitical judgments about Senate rules and procedure. In the budget reconciliation process, which Republicans are working through now, the parliamentarian's job is to rule on whether aspects of the bill fall within the necessary guidelines to qualify for reconciliation's simple majority passage threshold. However, with several rulings that found key portions of Trump's agenda do not fall into reconciliation's budgetary guidelines, Republicans on the other side of Capitol Hill – in the House of Representatives – are urging the Senate to break norms and disregard several of the parliamentarian's decisions. "They ought to heed the advice of the president – don't change the bill," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital earlier this week. Meanwhile, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., even called for the parliamentarian to be fired. "The Senate Parliamentarian also ruled that ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS are eligible for federal student loans. Does she not realize that our student loan crisis is already out of control??? ZERO taxpayer dollars should go towards student loans for ILLEGALS," he wrote on X. "THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP." Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., wrote on X on Wednesday evening, "Respecting the rules matters, but so does respecting the voters. They didn't give an unelected staffer the power to decide what is in the budget—that's the job of Congress." "It doesn't have to be this way. The Republicans senators are not required to adhere to anything she says," Van Drew said. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said on the platform, "The rogue Senate Parliamentarian should be overruled, just like activist judges." Despite calls from irate House Republicans and some senators, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has stood firm in his position that he would not seek to overrule the parliamentarian. Senate Democrats vowed to inflict as much pain as possible through the process known as the "Byrd Bath," which tests if each provision, line-by-line, is compliant with the Byrd Rule that governs the budget reconciliation process. So far, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled several key provisions, including oil and gas leasing, public land sales, changes to the cost-sharing formula for food benefits, among others, as being out of compliance with the Byrd Rule. However, it was a slew of rulings unveiled Thursday morning the 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 even 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.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate tussles over filibuster, tax cuts in Trump's legislative agenda
June 2 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans seek to make President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent while Democrats push for a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian as the chamber weigh's Trump's legislative agenda bill. The Senate returned Monday to Capitol Hill after its Memorial Day recess with the sweeping agenda bill as its top priority. As it mulls changes to the bill, Republicans hope to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act without an end date while not counting its financial impact toward the national debt. To stop the Republican plan from coming to fruition, Democrats want the Parliamentarian of the United States, a nonpartisan body that interprets the rules of the Senate's process, to weigh in. Democrats argued that extending the 2017 tax cuts permanently would violate the Senate's Byrd Rule, a rule that limits what can be considered in a budget reconciliation bill. This is significant because a budget reconciliation bill can be passed with a simple majority, or 51 votes, rather than the 60-vote threshold which is subject to filibuster rules. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. The Byrd Rule prohibits any provisions deemed extraneous from being included in a budget reconciliation bill. Among the characteristics that meet the criteria of an "extraneous" provision is a provision that increases the federal deficit beyond the budget window, which is typically 10 years. Democrats say a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts would do just that. Democrats also say going around the Parliamentarian would undermine the Senate's filibuster rules, alleging that Republicans already did this when they voted to overturn California's electric vehicle mandate in May. Senate Republicans invoked the Congressional Review Act to overturn the electric vehicle mandate without going through the Parliamentarian. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called on a series of votes to clarify whether the mandate was a rule that was being violated and thus able to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act. Senate Republicans have set a goal to pass the legislative agenda bill by July 4. The 1,116-page bill passed the House before the break and needs Senate approval to advance to the president's desk. Some Republicans also have expressed their support for making changes to Trump's legislative agenda bill. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has shared concerns about how it will add to the national debt if it is passed as is. "If I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt?" Paul said in an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday. "The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." Paul opposes a provision in the bill that would raise the debt ceiling. Changes to Medicaid are also a source of concern for some Republican Senators. "I've said that if there are deep cuts in Medicaid that would endanger healthcare for low-income families, for disabled children, for other vulnerable populations, and for our rural hospitals, I'm simply not going to support that," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week when meeting with constituents in Clinton, Maine, according to Maine Public Radio.
UPI
02-06-2025
- Business
- UPI
Senate tussles over filibuster, tax cuts in Trump's legislative agenda
1 of 2 | Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 6. Paul opposes a provision in President Donald Trump's legislative agenda bill that would raise the debt ceiling and has expressed concerns over the bills impact on the national debt. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 2 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans seek to make President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent while Democrats push for a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian as the chamber weigh's Trump's legislative agenda bill. The Senate returned Monday to Capitol Hill after its Memorial Day recess with the sweeping agenda bill as its top priority. As it mulls changes to the bill, Republicans hope to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act without an end date while not counting its financial impact toward the national debt. To stop the Republican plan from coming to fruition, Democrats want the Parliamentarian of the United States, a nonpartisan body that interprets the rules of the Senate's process, to weigh in. Democrats argued that extending the 2017 tax cuts permanently would violate the Senate's Byrd Rule, a rule that limits what can be considered in a budget reconciliation bill. This is significant because a budget reconciliation bill can be passed with a simple majority, or 51 votes, rather than the 60-vote threshold which is subject to filibuster rules. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. The Byrd Rule prohibits any provisions deemed extraneous from being included in a budget reconciliation bill. Among the characteristics that meet the criteria of an "extraneous" provision is a provision that increases the federal deficit beyond the budget window, which is typically 10 years. Democrats say a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts would do just that. Democrats also say going around the Parliamentarian would undermine the Senate's filibuster rules, alleging that Republicans already did this when they voted to overturn California's electric vehicle mandate in May. Senate Republicans invoked the Congressional Review Act to overturn the electric vehicle mandate without going through the Parliamentarian. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called on a series of votes to clarify whether the mandate was a rule that was being violated and thus able to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act. Senate Republicans have set a goal to pass the legislative agenda bill by July 4. The 1,116-page bill passed the House before the break and needs Senate approval to advance to the president's desk. Some Republicans also have expressed their support for making changes to Trump's legislative agenda bill. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has shared concerns about how it will add to the national debt if it is passed as is. "If I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt?" Paul said in an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday. "The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." Paul opposes a provision in the bill that would raise the debt ceiling. Changes to Medicaid are also a source of concern for some Republican Senators. "I've said that if there are deep cuts in Medicaid that would endanger healthcare for low-income families, for disabled children, for other vulnerable populations, and for our rural hospitals, I'm simply not going to support that," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week when meeting with constituents in Clinton, Maine, according to Maine Public Radio.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City's surviving Civil War stake defences revealed
The first surviving Civil War wooden stake defences to be found in Sheffield have been discovered by archaeologists in the moat of the city's former castle. The stakes were stuck into the ground to form a barrier around the Royalist-controlled castle, which fell to Parliamentarian forces after a 10-day siege in August 1644. The remains of the castle are currently being excavated by a team from Wessex Archaeology as part of the Castlegate regeneration project. Leading archaeologist Ashley Tuck called the find a "direct connection with the people who chopped down those trees and trusted their lives to this wood". Mr Tuck said discovering the 17th Century stakes was "what archaeology is about". "We're trying to form a link with the people that lived in the past," he explained. "We're trying to empathise with them and understand what they were going through. "To be able to touch something that they touched, that's electric." The crudely-prepared stakes were about 3ft (1m) in length and made from ash and elm, which implied they had been hastily crafted from trees in the local area, Mr Tuck said. Historians believe such defences would have been arranged chaotically to form a defence known as an "abatis", slowing attackers in strategic locations and creating a zone where they could be killed. At Sheffield Castle, this was done in front of the medieval gatehouse, a crucial entry point. The archaeology team said it was unusual to find such stakes intact, as they typically decayed over time or were destroyed after use. However, when Parliamentary forces destroyed the castle after its capture, the timbers were buried in the waterlogged ground of its moat, providing ideal conditions for their preservation. Mr Tuck said the stakes would be given to the Sheffield Museums Trust to display after completion of the preservation process, but that could take years. However, he also hinted there might be more discoveries from the site which could surprise people. "Keep your ears open," he teased. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North River opened up next to Sheffield Castle site Castle excavations a 'once in a lifetime' project Old steelworks unearthed at Sheffield Castle site Wessex Archaeology Sheffield Museums Trust Friends of Sheffield Castle
BBC News
03-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Sheffield's first surviving Civil War stake defences revealed
The first surviving Civil War wooden stake defences to be found in Sheffield have been discovered by archaeologists in the moat of the city's former stakes were stuck into the ground to form a barrier around the Royalist-controlled castle, which fell to Parliamentarian forces after a 10-day siege in August remains of the castle are currently being excavated by a team from Wessex Archaeology as part of the Castlegate regeneration archaeologist Ashley Tuck called the find a "direct connection with the people who chopped down those trees and trusted their lives to this wood". Mr Tuck said discovering the 17th Century stakes was "what archaeology is about"."We're trying to form a link with the people that lived in the past," he explained."We're trying to empathise with them and understand what they were going through."To be able to touch something that they touched, that's electric." The crudely-prepared stakes were about 3ft (1m) in length and made from ash and elm, which implied they had been hastily crafted from trees in the local area, Mr Tuck believe such defences would have been arranged chaotically to form a defence known as an "abatis", slowing attackers in strategic locations and creating a zone where they could be Sheffield Castle, this was done in front of the medieval gatehouse, a crucial entry archaeology team said it was unusual to find such stakes intact, as they typically decayed over time or were destroyed after when Parliamentary forces destroyed the castle after its capture, the timbers were buried in the waterlogged ground of its moat, providing ideal conditions for their Tuck said the stakes would be given to the Sheffield Museums Trust to display after completion of the preservation process, but that could take he also hinted there might be more discoveries from the site which could surprise people."Keep your ears open," he teased. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
