The Senate parliamentarian was never meant to be in the spotlight — let alone an office with political influence.
But as Republicans lurch toward a habit of using the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process to fund key government agencies, they are increasingly putting the fate of the party’s biggest spending priorities in the hands of a nonpartisan Senate adviser.
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune should immediately fire the Parliamentarian, who treats Republicans, and everything that they stand for, horribly!” President Donald Trump posted on Monday.
During the Senate’s latest reconciliation package, Republicans pushed to provide multiyear funding for immigration enforcement in place of annual appropriations — allowing them to bypass opposition from Democrats, who were demanding guardrails for ICE and Border Patrol.
Even before they cleared that current package in the House, leadership already had its eyes on another one, teasing “reconciliation 3.0.”
