Trump demands – President Donald Trump escalated his fight with Congress by demanding Senate Republicans fire the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, after she ruled this weekend that Republicans could not include funding for the White House ballroom in
When Elizabeth MacDonough ruled this weekend that Republicans could not tuck White House ballroom funding into an immigration enforcement bill, the setback landed hard—then Trump turned the spotlight on the person making the call.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump demanded Senate Republicans fire the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, accusing her of thwarting his agenda. He urged Republicans to “get smart and tough,” escalating a long-running pattern of attacks on procedural hurdles inside Congress.
In a Truth Social post. Trump called MacDonough “shockingly” appointed by the Obama administration in a role he described as crucial. He wrote that the parliamentarian position had been kept “in the hands of a woman. ” and claimed she was appointed long ago by Barack Hussein Obama and by “Senator Harry Reid. ” whom Trump described as having run the Senate for the “Dumocrats.”.
Trump’s question was direct: “So why has she not been replaced?”
MacDonough’s appointment dates back to 2012, when Obama did not have a say in her selection. For Trump, though, the issue is no longer only the ruling. It’s the mechanism—who gets to make it.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota pushed back during remarks to reporters Wednesday, saying Trump’s demand is not new. Thune said “there may be some issues related to the parliamentarian, but most of the issues we have here are votes.”
Thune also addressed the practical risk that may come with Trump’s broadside, saying: “That’s, I guess, his opinion. But that would create even more vote issues here if we were to try and do something like that. So we’ll make sure that everybody has got security around here,” as concerns linger that MacDonough could be targeted.
Trump’s confrontation with the parliamentarian came just days after MacDonough ruled on a provision tied to Trump’s White House ballroom project—an outcome that landed as a significant setback for Republicans. Republicans had hoped to pass the funding with a simple majority vote as part of a broader immigration and border security package. MacDonough determined the provision required 60 votes in the Senate, effectively dooming the effort under Senate rules.
The provision at the center of the dispute would allow roughly $1 billion in White House and Secret Service security funding tied to the ballroom project to be included in the reconciliation package. MacDonough’s ruling meant it could not be included under the rules as Republicans had planned.
The ballroom fight has been tangled with competing narratives about who should pay. Trump and his allies have argued that the ballroom itself would be funded through private donations. Administration officials. however. have sought federal funding for related security upgrades. including hardened infrastructure. drone detection systems and Secret Service facilities.
The pressure has been mounting from both sides of the aisle. Trump defended the project on Tuesday amid mounting criticism from Democrats and skepticism from some Republicans over using taxpayer dollars for a project the president initially framed as privately financed.
During a tour of the construction site, Trump insisted the effort was “a gift to the United States of America” and said donors—not taxpayers—were paying for the ballroom itself.
The political temperature around the parliamentarian demand has been rising beyond the immediate ruling. Earlier this week, on Monday, Semafor reported that Trump called Thune, urging him to fire MacDonough. The report described the call coming after Trump’s weekend pushback culminated in MacDonough’s decision.
That sequence matters because the Senate’s procedural gatekeeper role is not meant to be political leverage. Yet Trump’s reaction—demanding removal and questioning why MacDonough has not been replaced—puts the focus on the person rather than the math.
MacDonough’s ruling is now forcing Republicans to confront a basic reality Thune underlined: the path forward may depend less on changing rules than on securing votes.
Donald Trump Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough John Thune immigration enforcement bill White House ballroom reconciliation package Secret Service security funding Senate votes Truth Social