President Donald Trump is doubling down on his ask for Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to be fired by Senate Majority Leader John Thune in the aftermath of a tense reconciliation process in the upper chamber.
The president said Elizabeth MacDonough, who took the technically nonpartisan role in 2012 after being appointed by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), has been a detriment to his agenda, including the SAVE America Act.
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune should immediately fire the Parliamentarian, who treats Republicans, and everything that they stand for, horribly!” he posted to Truth Social on Monday afternoon, calling her a “nasty holdover from Mitch McConnell” and “very disloyal to John Thune.”
“She is known as a Radical Left Lunatic that caters to Democrats, and has no respect for Republicans, or Republican Ideology,” the president added. The parliamentarian is considered an expert on the chamber's rules and precedents, according to the Senate website.
“Just the other night, as an example, she ruled against us on a proposal that would have easily been approved, and should have been, by anyone else. We have every right to change her, and should do so, IMMEDIATELY,” he continued.
Townhall reached out to the White House to determine what specific ruling Trump is referring to.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pointed out Monday that it’s “not a new request” from the president when asked about Trump’s post by a reporter.
“And, as is typically the case, the parliamentarian rulings break both ways, and you know, we lose a few, we win a few, but that's been true when the Democrats have been in the majority too,” the Republican said.
“So that's a hard job, it's a very specific skill set, and you need somebody that is going to be a fair, you know, referee when it comes to this stuff. So I don't have anything to, any comment on that. I saw what he said,” he continued.
A GOP Senate aide told Townhall that the president and Thune have a “really strong relationship.”
“I think it’s just Trump wants it done, but it’s not happening,” the aide said, referring to MacDonough as a “pretty fair player.”
“There are many cases where she has ruled against Democrats, where she has ruled for Republicans. I mean, just look at the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ and everything that we got done in that bill,” the aide added. “That was all done through the reconciliation process. So if people say ‘oh, she never sides with us’ – that’s just not true.”
“You’re never going to have a parliamentarian that rules in your favor 100% of the time. That’s just never going to happen,” the source added.
However, some Republicans, like activist Scott Presler, are also calling for the parliamentarian’s ouster.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough was FIRST appointed in 2012
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) June 8, 2026
by democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Why in the world would Republicans keep someone that Harry Reid chose?
“Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough was FIRST appointed in 2012 by democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,” Presler posted to X on Tuesday.
“Why in the world would Republicans keep someone that Harry Reid chose?” he added.
Another GOP staffer told Townhall on background that “the President is rightfully upset about a non-elected bureaucrat wielding so much power.”
Presler has been one of the biggest proponents of the SAVE America Act, which would make documentary proof of citizenship legally mandated at the time of voter registration.
The proposal has become one of the touchiest points in the Senate, as four Republicans voted against moving the proposal forward in the latest reconciliation bill. The proposal is going to be pitched against in the third reconciliation bill, Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated, but it’s unclear if it will successfully make it past the “Byrd Rule” to be placed into a reconciliation bill, The Hill reported.
The parliamentarian plays a major role in deciding how the rule is used, according to the official congressional website. The election integrity proposal is considered one of the biggest legislative priorities of the president.
Townhall attempted to reach MacDonough for comment.
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