Senate Parliamentarian has removed the ban on gender-affirming care

2025-06-26T19:27:28+00:00

Source: Washington Blade Restrictions on the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care will be stripped from the Republican-led Senate reconciliation bill, following a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian on Tuesday that struck down a number of health related provisions. The legislation banned coverage for transgender medical care through Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program, language that was also included in the House version of the bill passed on May 22 with a vote of 215-214. The parliamentarians decision also rejected Republican proposals for a Medicaid provider tax framework, which allows states to charge health care providers and use the funds to support their programs, along with broader cuts to Medicaid. Amid calls to override Tuesdays ruling from Republicans like U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (Fla.), GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) told reporters That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done. Read more: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2025/06/26/senate-parliamentarian-orders-removal-of-gender-affirming-care-ban-from-gop-reconciliation-bill/

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,462 posts)

1. Senate Parliamentarian has removed the ban on gender-affirming care through CHIP and Medicaid patients from Trump's bill

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 03:28 PM

Jun 2025

I was shocked that the idiots thought that these provisions could pass the Byrd Rule

Link to tweet

Karasu

(2,003 posts)

2. I really want to know why the fuck the Republicans attached all this insane, unrelated shit knowing that it was a

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 03:34 PM

Jun 2025

reconciliation bill to begin with.

And what the fuck is the AI regulation ban still doing in there?! It has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BUDGET.

BumRushDaShow

(160,947 posts)

3. Will add to my list!

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 03:42 PM

Jun 2025

TALLY OF ITEMS STRIPPED BY PARLIAMENTARIAN SO FAR (plus the OP)

(Agriculture Committee) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143482891
(Banking, Environmental, Armed Services Committees) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143482360
(Judiciary Committee) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143483730
(Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143484256
(Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143484336
(Energy and Natural Resources Committee) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143485062
(Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143486073
(Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143486091

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,462 posts)

4. None of these provisions should be in a bill that is trying to avoid a filibuster under the Byrd Rule

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Reply #3)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 03:53 PM

Jun 2025

Most of these provisions clearly do not fit under the Byrd Rule in that these provisions are not budget related. trump wanted a big, beautiful bill such a bill required that all provisions must meet the requirements of the Byrd rule (i.e., be budget related) to avoid a filibuster. trump's goal of a big beautiful bill was a dumb move unless the Senate republicans were willing to do away with the filibuster.

BumRushDaShow

(160,947 posts)

5. Oh I know

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Reply #4)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 04:32 PM

Jun 2025

I have been endlessly posting about the Byrd Rule in my OPs!

BYRD RULE

I really got my initial schooling on it back in 2009/2010 when Obama was trying to get the ACA through and we lost our 60 (D) votes in the Senate when Scott Brown took Ted Kennedy's seat and we had to switch to reconciliation to finish it up (which is why it technically is called the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (PP-ACA)) - 2 different bills - one the original and the 2nd dubbed a "fix". I was watching the Committee markups on CSPAN & CSPAN2 and monitoring the CBO scoring back then.

The latest effort when (D)s used reconciliation was the "BBB" (Build Back Better - later "Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill" ) bill and the "Inflation Reduction Act" (that had all the energy and climate stuff in it).

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,462 posts)

6. Maddow blog-Overlapping problems create uncertainty over the future of the Republican megabill

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Reply #5)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 04:54 PM

Jun 2025

Donald Trump has said the GOP is united behind the inaptly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The truth for Republicans isn't nearly that simple.

Overlapping problems create uncertainty over the future of the Republican megabill www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo... via @msnbc
— Slapshot1955 (@slapshot19551.bsky.social) 2025-06-26T20:41:04.730Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/overlapping-problems-create-uncertainty-future-republican-megabill-rcna214977

As things stand, Republicans are basically confronting five problems:

1. GOP numbers aren’t adding up: The Congressional Budget Office concluded last week that the House version of the package would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt, and this week, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that proposed Senate changes would add an additional $400 billion to the price tag.

2. The Byrd bath: Because Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which prevents Democrats from derailing the bill with a filibuster, GOP lawmakers are having to subject the legislation to a complex process — which includes having the Senate parliamentarian remove provisions that run afoul of certain budgetary rules. This process is known as the “Byrd bath,” named after the late Democratic Sen. Bob Byrd of West Virginia.

In recent days, several key measures have already been stricken from the bill, including elements the party was counting on to help GOP numbers add up. This has caused a behind-the-scenes scramble that has not yet been resolved.

On Thursday, the developments for the party managed to get even worse. NBC News reported, "Republicans suffered a blow Thursday after the Senate referee ruled that a series of health care cuts and savings in their sweeping domestic policy bill are ineligible for the party-line path they're using to get around the chamber's 60-vote threshold."

The result leaves GOP leaders with limited choices: They can (a) look for other solutions; (b) try to tweak the legislation and ask the parliamentarian to take another look; or (c) vote to override the parliamentarian, which would be a radical and dramatic move that would risk altering how the institution functions going forward.

3. Far-right House Republicans think the Senate’s approach isn’t conservative enough: As The New York Times reported, “Some conservatives in the House only grudgingly voted for the legislation the first time, arguing that it did not go far enough in cutting spending, including on Medicaid. They agreed to support the package only after securing what they characterized as commitments from their Senate colleagues to enact deeper cuts and fix the measure. Now, those House Republicans regard the bill taking shape in the Senate, which party leaders hope to push through within days, as even worse.”

4. House Republicans from competitive districts think the Senate’s approach is too conservative: As NBC News reported, “On Tuesday, 16 House Republicans — almost all representing competitive districts — sent a letter rebelling against the Senate’s Medicaid cuts. They fretted that those policies would ‘place additional burdens on hospitals,’ among other things.”

5. The entire effort is unpopular. I mean, really unpopular. Republican officials have been working on this for roughly eight months, and talking up how great their plan is, but at least for now, the American mainstream isn't buying what the GOP is selling, which puts added pressure on members worried about their re-election prospects.

Given the scope of the intraparty disagreements, it’s not yet clear how, when or whether Republicans will work out their differences, and given the narrow margins in both chambers, the margin of error for party leaders is small. That said, if recent history is any guide, most, if not all, of the GOP members expressing skepticism about the legislation can be expected to cave after a couple of angry phone calls and tweets from the president.

We are headed to a debt ceiling issue soon which is why trump wants this bill done by July 4. I doubt that this will happen and we may see an emergency extension of the debt ceiling.

BumRushDaShow

(160,947 posts)

9. There are options that can be done

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Reply #6)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 05:37 PM

Jun 2025

Trying to do a rush job like they are doing - basically less than 6 months - is a recipe for disaster (for them).

FIRST - like just about every reconciliation bill, if there is this much rancor going on, they will probably have to put together a "Joint Conference Committee" and hash out a SINGLE BILL for both Chambers to vote on. This saves them from the back and forth changes between chambers because there are apparently House members who indicated that they may refuse to vote for the Senate version should it get passed and get sent back to them, and they can't lose more than 3 or 4 votes there (although they might be able to play with the voting "Present" ).

There are 3 vacancies (all-D) and the current tally is 220 (R) - 212 (D) and any "tie" would mean the legislation "fails".

SECOND - the debt ceiling raise is one of the big things that is holding up some of the most hard core of fiscal conservatives. A debt ceiling bill CAN BE moved separately using reconciliation (it is one of the reconciliation "types" - the types being "taxes" (revenue), "spending", and "debt" ). But they can only do this ONCE a fiscal year (whether singly for each type or any combo of 2 or all 3 types). The tax cuts for billionaires technically doesn't expire until the end of this calendar year, which would be Fiscal year '27, so they really do have some time on that. The debt ceiling dates keep shifting around as "extraordinary measures" are implemented and I have heard dates ranging from July - September. So if anything, that needs to be done - although just like the GOP did to Democrats endlessly, we could force them to sweat it.

This is why Thune originally wanted to break it up into 3 bills.

Karasu

(2,003 posts)

8. Exactly. I really have to wonder why the fuck the GOP still bothered to attach all these insane provisions in the

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Reply #4)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 05:09 PM

Jun 2025

first place, because they knew they were going to have to pass it with reconciliation.

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,462 posts)

7. Overlapping problems create uncertainty over the future of the Republican megabill

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 04:56 PM

Jun 2025

Donald Trump has said the GOP is united behind the inaptly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The truth for Republicans isn't nearly that simple.

Overlapping problems create uncertainty over the future of the Republican megabill www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo... via @msnbc
— Slapshot1955 (@slapshot19551.bsky.social) 2025-06-26T20:41:04.730Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/overlapping-problems-create-uncertainty-future-republican-megabill-rcna214977

As things stand, Republicans are basically confronting five problems:

1. GOP numbers aren’t adding up: The Congressional Budget Office concluded last week that the House version of the package would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt, and this week, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that proposed Senate changes would add an additional $400 billion to the price tag.

2. The Byrd bath: Because Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which prevents Democrats from derailing the bill with a filibuster, GOP lawmakers are having to subject the legislation to a complex process — which includes having the Senate parliamentarian remove provisions that run afoul of certain budgetary rules. This process is known as the “Byrd bath,” named after the late Democratic Sen. Bob Byrd of West Virginia.

In recent days, several key measures have already been stricken from the bill, including elements the party was counting on to help GOP numbers add up. This has caused a behind-the-scenes scramble that has not yet been resolved.

On Thursday, the developments for the party managed to get even worse. NBC News reported, "Republicans suffered a blow Thursday after the Senate referee ruled that a series of health care cuts and savings in their sweeping domestic policy bill are ineligible for the party-line path they're using to get around the chamber's 60-vote threshold."

The result leaves GOP leaders with limited choices: They can (a) look for other solutions; (b) try to tweak the legislation and ask the parliamentarian to take another look; or (c) vote to override the parliamentarian, which would be a radical and dramatic move that would risk altering how the institution functions going forward.

3. Far-right House Republicans think the Senate’s approach isn’t conservative enough: As The New York Times reported, “Some conservatives in the House only grudgingly voted for the legislation the first time, arguing that it did not go far enough in cutting spending, including on Medicaid. They agreed to support the package only after securing what they characterized as commitments from their Senate colleagues to enact deeper cuts and fix the measure. Now, those House Republicans regard the bill taking shape in the Senate, which party leaders hope to push through within days, as even worse.”

4. House Republicans from competitive districts think the Senate’s approach is too conservative: As NBC News reported, “On Tuesday, 16 House Republicans — almost all representing competitive districts — sent a letter rebelling against the Senate’s Medicaid cuts. They fretted that those policies would ‘place additional burdens on hospitals,’ among other things.”

5. The entire effort is unpopular. I mean, really unpopular. Republican officials have been working on this for roughly eight months, and talking up how great their plan is, but at least for now, the American mainstream isn't buying what the GOP is selling, which puts added pressure on members worried about their re-election prospects.

Given the scope of the intraparty disagreements, it’s not yet clear how, when or whether Republicans will work out their differences, and given the narrow margins in both chambers, the margin of error for party leaders is small. That said, if recent history is any guide, most, if not all, of the GOP members expressing skepticism about the legislation can be expected to cave after a couple of angry phone calls and tweets from the president.

We are headed to a debt ceiling issue soon which is why trump wants this bill done by July 4. I doubt that this will happen and we may see an emergency extension of the debt ceiling.

republianmushroom

(21,499 posts)

10. This will leave a mark on Tuberville.

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Jun 26, 2025, 07:12 PM

Jun 2025