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As the Senate continues to work on the Big, Beautiful Bill (BBB), one unelected official has been working overtime to shrink it and cut back on President Trump’s agenda.

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Current Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has taken a chainsaw to the House-passed legislation, reducing its size in several critical areas.

The Daily Caller has the story:

MacDonough has advised Senate Republicans that major reforms to Medicaid will have to be struck from the president’s landmark bill to comply with stringent budget rules. MacDonough has thus far flagged 47 provisions that must be stripped from the bill or revised to comply with Senate rules, effectively forcing Senate Republicans to go back to the drawing board to rewrite major sections of the bill.

Healthcare-related provisions that MacDonough struck from the bill include prohibiting federal Medicaid funding for sex change procedures, denying federal Medicaid funding to states for coverage of certain noncitizens and reducing federal Medicaid expenditures for the Obamacare expansion population in states that offer free healthcare to illegal immigrants.

Although the Caller does not mention it, MacDonough also flagged a provision that would cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood. We’re encouraged intercessors to reach out to Senate leadership about this decision, and you can do so by clicking the ad below.

What are the consequences of MacDonough’s actions? Up until now, Republicans have been using the budget reconciliation process to pass the BBB, allowing them to pass legislation with a simple majority. However, should they try to pass the BBB with the flagged provisions, the bill will then be subject to the normal voting process in which it must secure 60 votes to pass. We discussed the role of the Parliamentarian and her actions in June’s First Friday broadcast, which you can watch embedded below:

This move is a huge setback for Republicans. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said previously that he would not overrule the Parliamentarian’s rulings, potentially leaving the future of the BBB uncertain.

Republicans will likely either have to drop the controversial provisions from the bill entirely or hope for 60 votes, an outcome that seems all but impossible due to the staunch opposition from 47 Democrat senators. Senator Thune could also chose not to vote on the legislation this coming week, but that would mean the legislation would not arrive on the President’s Desk by July 4, a date President Trump has pushed for as a hard deadline.

Things seem bleak and impossible right now, but that impossibility should only motivate our prayers. We worship the God of the impossible who makes all things work together for His good. Let’s pray for Him to intervene in the Senate and for His will to be done!

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(Excerpt from The Daily Caller. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)