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President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly voiced his disapproval of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough following her decision to strike down a whopping $1 billion proposal for security additions amid the East Wing renovation project.
“Over the years, she has been brutal to Republicans, but not so to the Dumocrats — So why has she not been replaced?” the president wrote on Truth Social.
He added, “There are many fair people who would be qualified for that vital job. The Republicans play a very soft game compared to the Dumocrats. It is their single biggest disadvantage in politics.”
As reported by RSBN, MacDonough struck down the $1 billion proposal, which would have funded the massive military complex being built under the new White House Ballroom and security additions to the White House premises. The proposal is very likely to be redrafted and resubmitted to the U.S. Senate, per the usual procedure.
However, MacDonough’s move seems to be what has sparked President Trump’s acute disapproval for the top Senate advisor.
The Senate parliamentarian is a non-partisan role that includes advising on the interpretation of standing rules and procedures and referring legislation to committees. Removing a parliamentarian from their role is very rare, but it can happen if the Senate majority leader dismisses them.
According to a report from Semafor, President Trump has allegedly voiced his displeasure with MacDonough’s decision to block the security package in private conversations with Majority Leader John Thune. Senate Republicans are currently revising the bill’s language, the report noted, but the situation is tricky.
President Trump has often said that the White House Ballroom would be privately funded, so it’s unclear where the line is between potential congressionally approved security funding and private White House Ballroom construction funding.
According to The New York Times, information distributed last week on Capitol Hill by the U.S. Secret Service proposed that only $220 million of the whopping $1 billion price tag would go to building the ballroom itself.
President Trump has previously said that the cost of the ballroom alone, which does not, presumably, include the Secret Service security funding requests, would be around $400 million when all is said and done, per RSBN.