It's long past the time to "fire" the "woke Senate parliamentarian" installed by late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., more than a decade ago, according to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

"The woke Senate parliamentarian, who was appointed by Harry Reid and advised Al Gore, just struck down a provision banning illegals from stealing Medicaid from American citizens," Tuberville wrote in a scathing rebuke Thursday on X, referring to Elizabeth MacDonough, who was an Obama administration appointee in the era that established Obamacare healthcare giveaways. "This is a perfect example of why Americans hate the sweep.

"Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. congressmen who are elected by the people. Her job is not to push a woke agenda. The Senate parliamentarian should be fired ASAP."

MacDonough's ruling has effectively obstructed the Senate passing of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, giving Democrats an ace in the hole in stopping the Trump agenda with one of their long-standing power holders. Democrats have been vowing to unilaterally to vote against the bill before it was even constructed in a stand against Trump's victory last November.

It was unclear on Thursday if Republicans could opt to rework the bill to comply with the complex budget rules, as they have already done with some elements, or seek to override the decision by the Senate parliamentarian.

"It's pretty frustrating, but you know what we've got to do is work through this process and come up with something that fulfills the Trump agenda and also has fiscal sanity," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told reporters. "Look, I believe this bill is going to pass. I know there's a lot of work left to do."

A source familiar with the situation said Senate Republicans still had a path forward and described the July 4 deadline as achievable.

The bill encompasses much of Trump's domestic agenda. It would extend his 2017 tax cuts, boost immigration enforcement, zero out green-energy incentives, and restrict the waste, fraud, and abuse of food and health safety-net programs.

Trump has called on Republicans to pass the bill by the Fourth of July holiday, but lawmakers face a far more significant deadline later this summer, when they need to raise their self-imposed debt ceiling or risk triggering a catastrophic default.

Republicans who control both chambers of Congress broadly support the package, but they can afford to lose no more than three votes in either chamber. They remain at odds over several provisions – notably a proposed tax break for state and local tax payments and a tax on healthcare providers that some states use to boost the federal government's contribution to the Medicaid health plan.

The bill would limit those "provider taxes." Rural hospitals and other health providers warn that those cuts could force them to scale back operations or go out of business, and some Senate Republicans have sought to soften that provision.

The provider tax is one of several health and education provisions that has been ruled out of bounds by the Senate parliamentarian, creating further uncertainty about its status.

"This would be a chance to get it right and to protect rural hospitals," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a critic of the provider-tax restrictions.

The parliamentarian also flagged provisions that would deny student aid and Medicaid health coverage to some immigrants, as well as a provision that would prohibit Medicaid funding for transgender medical care.

Lawmakers a half-century ago decided that the Senate parliamentarian, currently  MacDonough, would hold the power to determine the policies they can enact through "budget reconciliation," the process that Republicans are using now to bypass the chamber filibuster rule that requires 60 of the 100 members to agree on most legislation.

"I think most Americans would be perplexed to know why an unelected person is making these decisions," Sen. Rand Paul told Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show" on Wednesday night. "These are profound, big decisions.

"Essentially, it's this, when we have reconciliation, there's a question: Is the predominant effect of the portion of the legislation about the budget, or is it about policy? But a lot of things are a tough call, and they can be about both policy and budget, as I think this is."

"This person who has not been elected by anybody can't be unelected, can't be removed from office, and for which the public has no way of expressing displeasure is making these decisions," Paul continued. "It's a terrible situation, and it's a bizarre sort of situation that we are all beholden. No one has voted for this person."

Information from Reuters was used to compile this report.

• Sen. Paul to Newsmax: Parliamentarian Has Too Much Power
• Senate Parliamentarian: Megabill Sections Violate Byrd Rule, Need 60 Votes