Who Is Elizabeth MacDonough—and Why Is Trump Pushing for Her to Be Fired?

President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to remove Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough after she ruled against including funds for the White House ballroom as part of the party’s budget reconciliation bill.

“Shockingly, Republicans have kept the very important position of ‘parliamentarian’ in the hands of a woman, Elizabeth MacDonough,” Trump said Wednesday.

He went on to claim that MacDonough has been “brutal” to Republicans but not to Democrats, asking: “Why has she not been replaced? There are many  fair people who would be qualified for that vital job.”

MacDonough over the weekend ruled security funding for Trump’s new White House ballroom did not meet the strict guidelines governing what Republicans can include in the budget reconciliation package they are trying to pass.

The proposal to allocate $1 billion in security additions for the White House and ballroom violated the Byrd Rule, she determined, as it was too broad to be included in the bill which cannot be filibustered.

Reconciliation bills can pass with a simple majority of 51 votes and avoid the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. The Byrd Rule is intended to prevent major policy changes from being inserted into fast-track budget legislation.

The decision came after some GOP senators had already voiced concern about including any ballroom funding in the bill.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana on Wednesday told reporters that the ballroom funding has now been removed from the spending bill.

But concern remains over Trump’s targeting of MacDonough and his call for her to be removed from the nonpartisan position she has held since 2012.

Current Senate Majority Leader John Thune, when asked about Trump’s post, told reporters: “Obviously, it’s concerning when anybody gets targeted like that. But it’s, I guess, his opinion… We’ll make sure everybody’s got security around here.”

“The question around the parliamentarian is one that happens every time there’s a reconciliation bill, whether it’s a Democratic majority or a Republican majority,” he said. “And there are always people who are unhappy with some of the decisions that come down.”

The opposition, meanwhile, celebrated the parliamentarian ruling as a win.

“Democrats derailed the GOP’s ridiculous ballroom proposal, and now they’re scrambling to come up with a new ballroom provision to put into their bill,” said Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The proposed ballroom has become a source of controversy, with rising costs drawing concerns from lawmakers across party aisles.

Trump defended the ballroom on Tuesday during a tour alongside reporters of the construction site, where he described the project as a “gift to the United States of America.” 

While criticizing MacDonough, Trump also repeated his calls on Republicans to pass the Save America Act, a measure that seeks to impose proof of citizenship on voters in order to cast a ballot, and to terminate the filibuster in the Senate.

The President framed these demands as existential for Senate Republicans and indicated their jobs were at risk.

“Get smart and tough Republicans, or you’ll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible!” he said.

The warning underscores Trump political influence following a string of recent primary victories by GOP candidates he backed, including challenges against Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky.  

Who is Elizabeth MacDonough?

MacDonough began her Senate career in the library before leaving to get a law degree at Vermont Law School. 

She worked briefly as a Justice Department trial attorney before returning to the Senate in 1999, this time as an assistant in the parliamentarian’s office and in 2002 she was promoted to senior assistant parliamentarian.

MacDonough was appointed Senate parliamentarian in 2012, by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of the Democrats during President Barack Obama’s tenure.

She was the first female parliamentarian in the chamber and has since served in the role under both Democratic and Republican presidencies.

MacDonough’s appointment was referred to as a “milestone moment” by then-Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

The ballroom saga is not the first time Trump has clashed with MacDonough.

Last year, he said she had been “a little difficult” after rulings that constrained parts of his “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which was eventually signed into law on Independence Day.

MacDonough guided the Senate through both of Trump’s impeachment trials.

But she has also drawn the ire of Democrats on occasion.

In 2021, during President Joe Biden’s presidency, she ruled the Democrats’ federal minimum wage boost could not be included in the COVID-19 relief plan under reconciliation rules.

What is the role of the House and Senate parliamentarians?

The House and Senate parliamentarian offices are formally designed to be nonpartisan and confidential.

According to Congress, the role exists to “provide expert advice and assistance on questions relating to the meaning and application of that chamber’s legislative rules, precedents, and practices.”

Gregory Koger, a professor of political science at the University of Miami who specializes in the study of Congress, tells TIME that because each chamber of Congress has the authority to determine its own rules, this can “create the potential for majorities to interpret rules in ways that are favorable to the majority but not consistent with the traditional meaning of those rules.”

The role of the parliamentarian was created, he says, “to try to make the interpretation of those rules more fair and more consistent over time.”

As nonpartisan officials, parliamentarians make their expertise on legal and procedural matters available to all members of the chambers.

Whenever the House or Senate is in session, the parliamentarian—or one of the office’s deputies or assistants—is present on the chamber floor at all times.

Parliamentarians in the House and Senate, along with their deputies, are responsible for maintaining, complaining, and publishing the rules and precedents of its chamber.

When advising lawmakers the parliamentarian will consult a variety of sources to inform their decision.

In the case of the Senate, these are the standing rules of the Senate, chamber precedents, expedited procedures, and unanimous consent agreements. 

In the House, the parliamentarian office publishes the House Rules and Manual, to ensure guidance followed is up to date.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, the office of the parliamentarian in the Senate was established in 1935, and only six individuals have held the position.

The role was established in the House in 1927 and six individuals have held the title of parliamentarian.

The center notes that “the scripts and verbal advice provided to senators by the parliamentarian are merely advice, not rulings” and adherence to that advice “is meant to create a predictable standard for doing business.”

Although the majority party can ignore and overrule a parliamentarian’s advice, Koger says, this has historically been avoided by Congress.

“Traditionally, officials really have not wanted to do that, because they value having a chamber that has at least some degree of professionalism and some minimal commitment to bipartisanship,” he notes.