Senate parliamentarian's no-go list: 15 pieces struck from Trump's megabill

The Senate parliamentarian has rejected several controversial provisions in the GOP's tax and spending package over the past few days.

Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough's decision on Thursday to reject key Medicaid cuts in the bill enraged hard-line Republicans, who called on Senate leaders to overrule or fire the longtime Senate referee.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he won't seek to overrule MacDonough. He said Thursday he still aims to get the "big, beautiful bill" on President Trump's desk by July 4.

The megabill, which carries much of Trump's legislative agenda, must undergo the "Byrd bath," a a process through which measures are reviewed for compliance with the Byrd Rule; measures that do comply can be attached to a reconciliation package that can pass with a 51-vote majority.

Republicans can still retool the provisions in an attempt to address the conflicts and resubmit them for review.

Here's a look at what didn't make the initial cut:  

Capping provider taxes; barring Medicaid for noncitizens

MacDonough ruled against several Medicaid provisions in the GOP megabill, including a plan to cap states’ use of health care provider taxes to get more federal Medicaid funding.  

The provision would have saved the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in spending over the next 10 years and would have helped to offset the cost of making President Trump’s corporate tax cuts permanent.  The measure would have required states to pay more for the cost of Medicaid coverage.  

MacDonough also rejected a provision in the bill that would have revoked Medicare eligibility for many noncitizen immigrants. It would have also prevented refugees and asylum-seekers from enrolling in Medicare even if they have a sufficient work history, meet the age and disability requirements, and have paid into the program.  

Barring ACA subsidies to health plans that cover abortion care

MacDonough rejected language that would bar federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from going to qualified health plans that cover abortion care.  

The provision in the bill aimed to restrict the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies from lowering the costs of plans that cover abortion in roughly a dozen states. It would have had an “outsized impact” on states where health insurers cover abortion voluntarily.  

MacDonough also ruled against another provision that would have ended “silver loading” under the ACA. Silver loading refers to when insurers increase premiums for silver-level health insurance plans in order to offset the cost of subsidies.  

Restrictions on Medicaid, CHIP coverage to immigrants

MacDonough also ruled against a provision that would have barred federal dollars from being spent on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover adults and children whose citizenship and immigration status are not immediately verifiable.  

She also rejected language in the megabill that would have lowered the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage grant from 90 to 80 percent in states that use funds to offer Medicaid coverage to immigrants without legal status. The provision would have applied to states that have chosen to expand Medicaid coverage as part of the ACA.  

Change to Federal Employees Retirement System contributions

MacDonough ruled against language that proposed increasing the Federal Employees Retirement System contribution rate for new civil servants who refuse to become at-will employees. She argued the provision violates the Byrd Rule, which bars provisions that are considered “extraneous” to the federal budget.  

State authorization to conduct border security and immigration enforcement

The megabill originally included language that gave states the authority to conduct border security and immigration enforcement, a responsibility that has traditionally fallen on the federal government. MacDonough rejected this language, ruling it violates the Byrd Rule.

Measure to limit court contempt powers

The parliamentarian rejected a measure in the bill that would have made it harder for courts to enforce lawsuits against the Trump administration. The measure targeted preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders issued by federal judges against Trump’s executive orders and other directives. MacDonough argued that limiting courts’ ability to hold Trump in contempt violates Senate rules.

Language barring noncitizens or permanent residents from receiving SNAP benefits

Last week, MacDonough ruled against a measure that prevented immigrants who are not yet citizens or lawful permanent residents from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

She also rejected another SNAP-related provision that required states to pay a percentage of food assistance under SNAP depending on their individual error rates in delivering food aid. The provision required states to pay between 5 percent and 15 percent of food benefits in 2028, depending on their error rate. Nearly every state has had SNAP error rates of 6 percent or higher.

Extending the suspension of permanent price support authority

MacDonough pushed back against a Republican measure that sought to extend the suspension of permanent price authority, which has traditionally been a part of the farm bill.

The original bill had attempted to end a long-held farm bill practice in which farm commodity programs — the network of subsidies for products such as dairy, corn or rice — that underpin large-scale U.S. agriculture expire every few years, effectively forcing congressional Republicans back to the negotiating table annually to participate in the grand bargain of SNAP and conservation funding in return for farm welfare.

The measure knocked down by the parliamentarian would have extended those subsidies past their normal cutoff to expire in 2031 — which advocates of sustainable agriculture and SNAP warn would have removed any need for farm state legislators to pass any farm bill this decade, because they would have gotten what they needed. 

While this would be within bounds of a normal farm bill, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that legislators couldn’t do it through reconciliation and would therefore need to come up with 60 votes. 

Funding cap on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

MacDonough has ruled against a provision that would have essentially eliminated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by placing a cap on its funding. The provision would have lowered the agency’s maximum funding to zero percent of the Federal Reserve’s operating expenses.  

She also ruled against several other measures that fell under the control of the Senate Banking Committee, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Senate Armed Services Committee. One would have cut $1.4 billion in federal costs by lowering the Federal Reserve staff pay.

MacDonough also rejected measures that proposed cutting more than $1 billion in costs by slashing Office of Financial Research funding and getting rid of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.  

Selling off millions of acres of public land

The Senate parliamentarian ruled against a provision championed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would have sold off millions of acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in up to 11 states.

Lee, in a post on the social platform X, said he would revamp the plan. The new legislation will still sell off land owned by the Bureau of Land Management — but not land owned by the Forest Service.

He also said he would “SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE” the amount of land in the bill, limiting it only to lands within 5 miles of a population center.

Easing offshore oil and gas project compliance

MacDonough blocked a provision that would deem offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act. 

She also rejected a measure in the bill that required offshore oil and gas leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after their sale. 

She also said Republicans could not include a provision in the bill that requires the Interior secretary to OK the construction of Ambler Road, a more than 200-mile-long access road that would facilitate the development of four large mines and hundreds of smaller mines in northern Alaska. 

Forcing the Postal Service to sell electric vehicles

The bill originally contained language that sought to undo Biden administration rules meant to encourage electric vehicle use. The Senate parliamentarian rejected a provision that would force the General Services Administration, which handles the equipment used by government agencies, to sell all the eclectic vehicles used by the U.S. Postal Service.  

However, a policy that would rescind funds passed by Democrats to allow the Postal Service to purchase additional electric vehicles and chargers is still in the bill.  

Repeal EPA rule limiting air pollution emitted by passenger vehicles

The bill targeted several Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, including one that restricts air pollution emissions from passenger vehicles. MacDonough said late last week that Republicans could not include that measure in the “big, beautiful bill."   

Allowing project developers to bypass judicial environmental reviews

Republicans also wanted to change the National Environmental Policy Act to allow project developers to fast-track environmental reviews or prevent judicial reviews if they paid a one-time fee, according to Politico. MacDonough ruled against the measure.  

Altering the REINS Act

MacDonough also said Republicans could not include a modified version of the REINS Act in the bill. The measure would have increased congressional power over big regulations, according to Axios.

Saul Elbein contributed.

Originally published at 6:05 p.m. on June 23