Unelected Bureaucrats Thwart the People’s Will

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) unleashed a fiery demand for the ousting of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Thursday, accusing her of sabotaging the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by striking down a provision to block illegal immigrants from accessing Medicaid. This ruling, Tuberville argues, is a blatant overreach by an unelected official appointed by Harry Reid, who now stands in the way of policies reflecting the will of American voters.

“The WOKE Senate Parliamentarian is stealing from citizens to push a radical agenda,” Tuberville posted on X, emphasizing that such bureaucrats should not override elected representatives.

The bill, championed by President Donald Trump as a “big, beautiful” fulfillment of campaign promises, includes extending the 2017 tax cuts and bolstering border security.

Yet MacDonough, wielding the obscure “Byrd Rule” from 1985, deemed the Medicaid provision incompatible with Senate budgetary rules, sparking outrage among Republicans who see her as an unaccountable gatekeeper derailing the people’s mandate.

A History of Bureaucratic Overreach

MacDonough’s role as the Senate’s rules arbiter grants her outsized influence, but her decisions are not untouchable. In 2001, then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott fired Parliamentarian Robert Dove for repeatedly blocking budgetary proposals, setting a precedent for reining in such overreach.

Tuberville’s call to fire MacDonough echoes past frustrations, including from Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Ilhan Omar, who in 2021 criticized her for axing a $15 minimum wage provision from Biden’s American Rescue Act.

“An unelected parliamentarian does not get to deprive 32 million Americans,” Khanna declared, urging then-Vice President Kamala Harris to overrule her—a step Harris declined to take.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) amplified Tuberville’s stance, urging Vice President JD Vance, as Senate presiding officer, to bypass MacDonough’s ruling.

“It’s time for elected leaders to take back control,” Steube wrote on X, arguing that the will of the people, not a staffer hiding behind arcane procedure, should shape the nation’s future.

Amending the provision to skirt the Byrd Rule is another option, as Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) suggested, noting that savvy drafting can outmaneuver bureaucratic roadblocks if leadership prioritizes passage.

Reclaiming Power for the People

The Republican critique paints MacDonough’s ruling as part of a pattern where unelected “Deep State” figures undermine the agenda Americans voted for. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) warned that future generations will judge lawmakers harshly if they allow a parliamentarian’s veto to derail transformative reforms.

“We campaigned on these changes, and ‘the Senate parliamentarian said no’ isn’t an excuse,” Cloud told The Daily Signal.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) went further, framing the ruling as a “dire threat” from “UN-ELECTED Deep State bureaucrats” intent on destroying Trump’s agenda.

The fight over MacDonough’s ruling points to a deeper battle: whether unelected officials can continue to dictate the nation’s laws, thwarting the priorities of elected representatives.

Do you agree with the calls for Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to be fired? Let us know why or why not by commenting below!