BREAKING: Donald Trump is dealt a crushing defeat as Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough strips away brutal Medicaid cuts from the "big, beautiful bill" with the stroke of her pen — prompting Republicans to call for her firing.
This heroic woman is now MAGA world's number one enemy...
“Democrats are fighting back against Republicans’ plans to gut Medicaid, dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and kick kids, veterans, seniors, and folks with disabilities off of their health insurance – all to fund tax breaks for billionaires," said Senator Jeff Merkley, ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.
"Republicans are scrambling to rewrite parts of this bill to continue advancing their families lose, and billionaires win agenda, but Democrats stand ready to fully scrutinize any changes and ensure the Byrd Rule is enforced," he added.
MacDonough rejected a scheme to cap states' ability to use healthcare provider taxes to collect more Medicaid funding, a measure that would have slashed hundreds of billions in expenditures in order make Trump's plutocratic corporate tax cuts permanent. It was a blatant effort to funnel more money to powerful companies on the backs of the American people.
The federal government would have been let off the hook for the costs, forcing already over-burdened states to shoulder the burden. Taken in tandem with Trump's efforts to gut and ultimately eliminate the Department of Education, state treasuries are being assaulted from every side by this administration.
According to The Hill, MacDonough's bold move could throw a wrench into Senate Majority Leader John Thune's plan to bring the Senate bill to a vote this week. A postponement would be a major black eye for Trump, who has been pressuring his party to pass the bill as quickly as possible. The White House is desperate for a "win" even if that win is a major defeat for the American public.
As she has done with other provisions, MacDonough ruled that the measures in question ran afoul of the Byrd Rule — which puts restrictions on what can be included in reconciliation bills — meaning that the legislation cannot be passed with a simple majority fast track vote in its current state.
If he chooses to circumvent her ruling, Thune would be establishing a dangerous new precedent for simple-majority votes on reconciliation bills, and he has already signaled a reluctance to do so.
"That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done,” said Thune.
He realizes that it would backfire hard on Republicans the next time that Democrats seize control of Congress.
Additionally, the parliamentarian cut out Republican provisions in the bloated, ugly bill that would have restricted Medicare and Medicaid coverage of undocumented migrants — needlessly cruel measures that would have served the dual MAGA goals of denying people healthcare and inflicting suffering on immigrants.
One of the sections that she cut would have revoked Medicare eligibility for refugees, asylum seekers, and individuals who are in the country under "temporary protected status." The fact that Republicans were targeting these people in the first place shows that their xenophobic agenda isn't about getting rid of foreign criminals, it's about bringing about a white nationalist reshaping of demographics.
The Republican backlash was immediate. Hardcore MAGA Senator Tommy Tuberville — widely considered to be one of the most incompetent, ignorant members of his party — demanded that Thune fire MacDonough "ASAP" because she's "WOKE" and an example of "THE SWAMP."
As usual, these conservatives claim to be all about "law and order" until they encounter a law that they don't like. MacDonough is simply doing her job and the American people should be grateful to have her. She is standing as a powerful bulwark against the most destructive elements of Donald Trump's historically bad bill.
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