Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has nixed several more provisions in Republicans' "big, beautiful" megabill.
⭕ The first — holding White House officials in contempt: Republicans have included language to make it very difficult for courts to hold Trump administration officials in contempt. If passed, that could give Trump officials power to ignore court rulings because there's no easy enforcement mechanism to hold them in contempt.
^ Wow, this is a wild stat: Since January, courts have already ruled *against* the Trump administration at least 197 times, per The New York Times tracker.
^^For context: This controversial provision was included in the House-passed bill, but it went unnoticed by many. Several Republicans later realized it was in the bill after voting "yes" and publicly said they regret their vote.
⭕ The second — border security and immigration enforcement: MacDonough rejected language that would authorize states — as opposed to the federal government — to conduct border security and immigration enforcement.
⭕ The third — increasing contributions for retirement: MacDonough ruled against GOP language to increase what federal employees would contribute to the Federal Employees Retirement Systems if they don't agree to become at-will employees.
🟩 But what is allowed to stay — AI: A 10-year ban on states regulating artificial intelligence (AI).
This is important to keep in mind: The Senate parliamentarian's role is nonpartisan, and she is not deciding what lawmakers can and cannot pass. MacDonough is sifting through the bill to decide what is allowed to be included in Republicans' reconciliation bill. Remember: Reconciliation is a legislative loophole to pass a bill with just 51 votes, not the usual 60 votes.
MacDonough ruled these provisions are a violation of the Byrd Rule. If Republicans want to include them, they will need 60 votes.
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