Rulings by Elizabeth MacDonough take big bites out of the GOP’s “Big Beautiful Bill”
Jay Kuo at The Big Picture:
The arcane world of parliamentary rules and procedures is not normally riveting drama. Few outside Congress know what a legislative “Byrd bath” is, and fewer still likely know the name Elizabeth MacDonough, the current Senate Parliamentarian.
Yet behind the scenes this weekend and into Monday in the Senate, MacDonough heard arguments from partisans and issued several key rulings, deciding what can stay in and what must come out of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” under rules governing the so-called “reconciliation” process. You may have heard about some of the worst things the GOP poured into the bill. Huge cuts to SNAP benefits. A provision aimed at kneecapping judicial review. Gutting of federal agencies and attacks upon the rights of federal workers. Restrictions on AI regulation by the states. Even the selling off of millions of acres of pristine federal land for development. How did all these fare after MacDonough and her office reviewed them? What came out of the bill, stayed in it, or only survived after significant modification? The process is ongoing, but we have some early answers. Before we jump into the specifics of this odious bill, let’s have a quick review of “reconciliation,” how it’s different than “normal” legislation under something called the “Byrd” Rule, and what part the Senate Parliamentarian plays. Then we’ll get to the juicy parts, which I’m happy to report have given Democrats many reasons to cheer.
Reconciliation, the Byrd Bath and the Parliamentarian
That header may sound like a C.S. Lewis novel, but the mechanics of what the Senate is currently doing matter a great deal to the entire nation. So it’s worth breaking these down and getting a firmer grasp of each. When typical bills originate in the House and go to the Senate for approval, they are subject to the filibuster rule. That means that any senator can keep debate from ending by lodging a filibuster. To break a filibuster, you need a three-fifths vote, or 60 senators to agree. In a closely divided Senate, that makes it very hard to get most legislation through. There has to be pretty solid bipartisan support.
But the filibuster doesn’t apply to all types of bills. The most important exception is a “reconciliation” bill. The name comes from the process where Congress “reconciles” federal laws on taxes and spending with the targets set by the annual budget. It’s basically a way to make the budget match the law. One of the primary jobs of Congress (though you wouldn’t know it from the past few years under GOP control) is to pass a budget and then appropriate funds. This process is difficult enough, but it would probably flounder entirely if the filibuster rules applied to reconciliation bills, too.
Because reconciliation is a key exception to the filibuster rule, you can imagine what the temptation is: loading everything you can into it and calling it a “reconciliation” bill. That’s what the GOP did with the budget bill. It’s loaded down with all kinds of things that would normally be subject to the filibuster were they in a stand-alone bill. Enter the Byrd Rule. It’s named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and it’s been in place for 40 years. The Byrd Rule says that extraneous matters can’t get shoved into a reconciliation bill. What’s extraneous? There’s a laundry list that keeps out any provisions that budget beyond 10 years, are outside of a committee’s jurisdiction, are outside the budget instructions, or make changes to social security. But the big sticking point is this: it excludes anything that doesn’t change federal spending or revenue and excludes it where the budgetary effect is merely “incidental” to the actual policy goal.
It’s that last point that is the real stickler. How do you decide whether something is actually “incidental” to the budget in its effect? And who gets to decide that? Enter the Senate Parliamentarian. Think of her as a legislative referee. Her role is non-partisan, and she’s a crucial gatekeeper to keeping the Senate on the straight and narrow. Her job is to help ensure there are no B.S. provisions labeled as “budgetary” that are actually sneaky policy directives. Before the Senate gets to vote on the reconciliation, both sides make their case to the Parliamentarian, and she makes her rulings, washing out things that don’t meet the criteria. And that’s why it’s called a Byrd bath!
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough gave the Byrd Bath to several GOP wishlist items not germane to budgetary in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
See Also:
Wolves and Sheep (Matt Kerbel): Byrd Bath
