Senate parliamentarian rejects food aid cuts proposed by Republicans

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/us/politics/senate-snap-food-stamps.html

Senate Official Rejects Food Aid Cuts Proposed by Republicans in Megabill
The ruling by the parliamentarian sent G.O.P. lawmakers back to the drawing board to cover the costs of President Trump’s domestic policy bill.
By Catie Edmondson
June 21, 2025, 12:24 p.m. ET

A top Senate official on Friday night rejected a bid by Republicans to slash federal food aid payments as part of their sweeping legislation carrying President Trump’s domestic agenda, sending party leaders scrambling to find another way to help offset the massive cost of the bill.

The measure passed by the House last month and on track to be considered in the Senate next week would cover part of the cost of extending and expanding large tax cuts by cutting social safety net programs including Medicaid and nutrition programs, including SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.

Republicans are moving the bill through Congress using special rules that shield it from a filibuster, depriving Democrats of the ability to block it. But to qualify for that protection, the legislation must comply with a rigorous set of budgetary restrictions meant to ensure that it will not add to the deficit. And the Senate parliamentarian, an official appointed by the chamber’s leaders to enforce its rules and precedents, must evaluate such measures to ensure that every provision meets those requirements.

Elizabeth MacDonough, the parliamentarian, ruled that the SNAP measure, which would push some of the costs of nutrition assistance onto the states, did not. That sent Republicans back to the drawing board to find another strategy for covering tens of billions of dollars of the bill’s cost.

She also said Republicans could not include a provision that would bar immigrants who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving SNAP benefits, according to Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.

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[Johonny]

1. The Senate was suppose to fix the bill

And instead they are crafting a meaner bigger screw job bill that will almost certainly tank the US economy

[BoRaGard]

2. How many billions would Jesus slash from food aid for the poor?

So he could give tax breaks to the rich?

Asking for the republicons, since they refuse to ask themselves.

[sabbat hunter]

4. Which Jesus

the biblical jesus, or their version of Jesus?

[Autumn]

5. They are one and the same. When people created Jesus they were looking for help and

compassion that was in short supply. Now people want an asshole that punishes the people they don't like.

[sabbat hunter]

3. How soon

will the GOP choose to fire the current Senate Parliamentarian, and choose someone more pliable to their wants? Or simply ignore her rulings.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Senate Parliamentarian brings the hammer down on Donald Trump by ripping out several key sections

I am glad that Senate Parliamentarian is enforcing the Byrd rule

Link to tweet

The Senate Parliamentarian brings the hammer down on Donald Trump by ripping out several key sections from his disastrous "big, beautiful bill" with the stroke of a pen.

Finally, some good news about one of the worst bills in history...

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled that key sections of massive, bloated legislation run afoul of the Byrd Rule — which puts restrictions on what can be included in reconciliation bills — and so must be removed if the bill is to be passed on a simple majority vote.

"The Senate Parliamentarian advised that certain provisions in the Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Betrayal will be subject to the Byrd Rule – ultimately meaning they will need to be stripped from the bill to ensure it complies with the rules of reconciliation,” said Senator Jeff Merkley, ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

"As much as Senate Republicans would prefer to throw out the rule book and advance their families lose and billionaires win agenda, there are rules that must be followed and Democrats are making sure those rules are enforced,” he added.

MacDonough singled out sections that fall under the purview of the Senate committees on Banking, Environment and Public Works, and Armed Services.

One of the flagged provisions would have slashed the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by $6.4 billion, eliminating the agency in what would have amounted to a massive handout to predatory corporations.

MacDonough also cut out a provision that would have gutted $1.4 billion in funding for Federal Reserve staff pay, $293 million in funding for the Office of Financial Research funding, and $771 million that would have resulted in the elimination of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

She blocked a planned repeal of funding authorized under President Biden's historic Inflation Reduction Act as well as a repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s multi-pollutant emissions standards for certain vehicles produced after 2027.

Another targeted provision would have reduced appropriations to the Defense Department if spending plans aren't submitted on time.

While Senate Majority Leader John Thune could move to overrule the parliamentarian’s ruling with a floor vote, he has already signaled that he likely will not do so. Such a radical step would establish a new precedent that would inevitably backfire on Republicans in the future.