We bet that almost none of our readers know who the Senate Parliamentarian is, or even that this position existed.

But Elizabeth MacDonough does exist and she’s become the most powerful person in Washington. She’s wreaking havoc on the Big Beautiful Tax Reconciliation Bill.

In the last several weeks MacDonough has ruled at least $2 trillion of budget savings and reforms – many of which are at the heart of the deficit reduction plan – can only be passed with a 60-vote Senate supermajority.

She’s ruled out the fix on Medicaid scams by the states, all Medicaid work requirements, land sales, the Reins Act to control regulatory costs, citizenship verification for welfare programs, restrictions on excessive pay for federal employees, restrictions of funding for sanctuary cities, to name a few.

What this means is that the budget deficit will be far HIGHER in the years to come. The very Democrats who scream that Republicans are expanding the deficits and debt are applauding these fiscal road blocks.

Republicans could have replaced the Senate parliamentarian at the start of the year – just as they could and should have cleaned house at the CBO and Joint Committee on Taxation, but they punted.

It’s a reminder of the great former Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner’s Number one political rule: Personnel are policy.

Here’s MacDonough greeting President Obama:

And here’s a partial list of the budget savings left on the literal cutting board table. A comprehensive list can be found here.

• • • Increasing the maximum fine and prison time for illegal disclosures of taxpayer information from $5,000 to $250,000 and from 5 years to 10 years.
    • Prohibiting participation in Medicaid for non-citizens.
    • Ending the ability of states that receive federal Medicaid dollars to raise taxes on health care providers.
    • Requiring that offshore oil and gas leases be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after the lease sale.
    • Mandatory public land sales. Allows the sale of both Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands.