Thune says he won't overrule Senate referee on Medicaid cuts

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

06/26/25 10:57 AM ET


Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Thursday said he will not overrule the parliamentarian after she rejected key Medicaid provisions in the GOP’s tax and spending megabill, dealing a blow to Republicans’ plan to pay for tax cuts in the package.

“No. That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected a plan that would cap states’ ability to collect more federal Medicaid funding via healthcare care provider taxes. The move would have collected hundreds of billions in savings, which Republicans were relying on.

Thune says Republican leaders knew “it was going to be an interesting conversation” with the Senate’s referee about the provision, but believes there are actions members can take to find similar savings. “These are … short-term setbacks,” he said. “Speed bumps, if you will. We’re focused on the goal.” Thune added, “We were obviously trying to get as much in terms of savings as we could. We pushed hard to try and achieve that.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5371008-thune-senate-parliamentarian-medicaid/

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Until he starts getting the MAGat death threats. He already overruled her with respect to using the Congressional Review Act to remove CA's Waiver of the Clean Air Act (for setting their own emissions standards), which was improper because the Waivers aren't "regulations" subject to the CRA, but are actually a provision in the law.