Charlie Kirk says if the Senate parliamentarian “keeps on acting in a way where there is no negotiation, then we gotta get rid of her”
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From the June 26, 2025, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble
CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): But, look, we shouldn't put that off the table if it gets to it.
If Elizabeth MacDonough gets in the way of President Trump's agenda, then we can change the rules. There are many measures that we can get to at this point. My biggest, my biggest concern is why is this even program have one person that's able to get in the way of what we obviously want to do and what we should be able to do? She did not win seven swing states. She did not win a popular vote majority. And she's a staffer. She's not, like, Senate confirmed. She's not a judge. She's not from the — she's not Article III. It's it's really kind of a creation — let's put this up on screen. It's very important history.
So the office of the parliamentarian does have, of course, constitutional roots. Article I, section five says each house may determine the rules of its proceedings. The office of the parliamentarian were created in the House in 1927 and in the Senate in 1935. The parliamentarian answers questions from the presiding officer about the wording of motions and about precedents related to motions or actions. The current parliamentarian as mentioned is Elizabeth MacDonough. She's been in office since 2012. Harry Reid put her there, which should make us have a little bit of pause. And by then, Senate majority leader — appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The budget reconciliation process is only supposed to include provisions that, according to the Congressional Research Service, quote, would change laws related to direct spending, revenue, or the debt limit.
Hold on. So spending, revenue, or debt limit? No Medicaid for illegals is absolutely no spending or revenue. Now she's an officer appointed by the Senate majority leader, John Thune, and they're generally preserved across parties to maintain harmony in the Senate, but they have been removed before. And so we should not dismiss that as something.
If she keeps on acting in a way where there is no negotiation, then we gotta get rid of her. Robert Dove was a parliamentarian picked by Republicans and got fired when Democrats took over and then came back when Republicans took power again, but then got fired by Republican Trent Lott. So these kind of fights have happened. But let's be honest, the fact that she's in the news means we have a little bit of a problem. We just gotta be honest with ourselves. We should not know her name. You should not know her name. We should not be dedicating precious time on our program to Elizabeth MacDonough. Illegals getting Medicaid is a red line. That cannot be allowed. Figure it out. If she gets in the way of illegals getting Medicaid, then we're gonna have to ratchet this up a little bit.
But I wanna just make sure we are being fair. This is not a final ruling. This is not a complete judgment. Let me read from you from a top top source, a text message I was texting. The Democrats are leaking. This is the best source that we can have, better than anyone on cable news. Trust me. The Democrats are leaking about what the parliamentarian has done. A lot of it is either out of context or will be dealt with through very minor language changes. There is a version of the Medicaid stuff that will be passable, but the Democrats are leaking this to try to F us politically. OK? That's a top tier source here. But we're making you aware of this growing situation. But let me just repeat this. Quote, the Democrats are leaking about what the parliamentarian has done, but a lot of it is either out of context. Oh, the Democrats would never lie, and the Democrats would never leak. By the way, that's why the Democrats were not briefed on operation Midnight Hammer because they would've leaked it. And, quote, a lot of it will be dealt with through very minor language changes. This is a game and a game of spin, and it's largely a propaganda war. We gotta keep our eyes on her. If she stands in the way of us getting rid of Medicaid for illegals, dramatic action is necessary.