Senate Parliamentarian
The Senate parliamentarian is a nonpartisan advisor to the chamber on procedural issues, interpretation of Senate rules, and legislative activity. During a Senate meeting, the Senate parliamentarian—or a staff member from her office—sits on the Senate dais and advises the presiding officer.[1] Senate parliamentarians are hired by the secretary of the Senate.[2]
The office was created in 1935. Charles Watkins, who had served as an unofficial advisor on floor procedure since 1923, was the first parliamentarian.[3]
As of February 2025, Elizabeth MacDonough was the Senate parliamentarian.
Duties of the Senate parliamentarian
The Senate parliamentarian's duties include the following responsibilities:[4]
- Provide advice and assistance on legislative rules and procedures
- Advise the presiding officer on the appropriate procedure, statements, and responses during a meeting of the Senate
- Offer written guidance on procedural questions
- Recommend the referral of measures to the appropriate committee
- Maintain and publish procedural rules
Budget Reconciliation
| Budget reconciliation |
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| Unpacking the reconciliation process |
| • How reconciliation works • Why reconciliation is used • History of use • Analysis of use • Limits on reconciliation • The Byrd Rule • Filibuster and reconciliation • Vote-a-ramas |
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One of the parliamentarian's responsibilities is to advise whether certain provisions or amendments of budget reconciliation bills are extraneous according to the Byrd rule. Budget reconciliation bills are expedited pieces of legislation having to do with spending, tax, and debt limits. These types of bills can be passed with a simple majority because they have a time limit on floor debate, meaning that the Senate and House never have to reach the 60% vote threshold required to end debate.[5][6]
The Byrd rule is a section of federal law that requires that the content of budget reconciliation bills not include extraneous provisions.[7] In other words, it requires that budget reconciliation bills include only provisions related to the budget and only provisions that accomplish the goals of the budget resolution. If a Senator finds the content of a reconciliation bill or an amendment of a reconciliation bill to contain extraneous material, they can raise a point of order under the Byrd rule, which if sustained would cause the extraneous material to be removed from the bill. The presiding officer of the Senate (the vice president) then has the option to waive or sustain the motion. In this matter, the presiding officer is advised by the Senate Parliamentarian.[5]
The Senate Parliamentarian's role is advisory in nature and her decisions are not technically binding in that they can be overturned by the Senate or the presiding officer.[5]
When has the Vice President ruled contrary to the Parliamentarian's advice?
Vice President Nelson Rockefeller overruled the Parliamentarian in 1975 regarding procedures for voting to change the Senate's filibuster rules. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey ruled contrary to the Parliamentarian's determination regarding the filibuster threshold in 1967 and 1969.[8][9]
In March 2021, 24 Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter to President Joe Biden (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) requesting that Harris overrule the Senate Parliamentarian's determination that a provision raising the national minimum wage to $15 per hour proposed for the 2021 reconciliation bill was extraneous and had to be removed according to the Byrd Rule. Ultimately, Harris ruled in accordance with the Parliamentarian and removed the provision.[8]
Parliamentarian selection and tenure
The Senate secretary, who is chosen by and reports to the Senate majority leader, hires the Senate Parliamentarian. Parliamentarians do not have a fixed term and serve until they resign, retire, or are dismissed. The Senate majority leader has instructed the Senate secretary to dismiss the Senate Parliamentarian once in 2001.[10]
Senate Parliamentarian dismissals
In 1987, when Democrats took control of the Senate, then-Senate majority leader Robert Byrd (D) dismissed Senate Parliamentarian Robert B. Dove. Dove was reinstated in 1995.[11]
In 2001, Parliamentarian Robert B. Dove was again dismissed this time by Senate majority leader Trent Lott (R). Dove had determined and advised that only one tax-reduction bill could be considered through the budget reconciliation process that year and that a Republican-proposed $5 million provision for natural disasters was extraneous under the Byrd Rule not long before his dismissal. The Washington Post reported that several Republican sources and a Republican aide described Dove's advisory rulings on the number of tax-reduction reconciliation bills allowed and the $5 million natural disasters provision as contributing to Lott's decision to dismiss Dove.[12][13]
List of Senate parliamentarians
Since the office was created in 1935, there have been six Senate parliamentarians.[3][14]
| Parliamentarians of the U.S. Senate | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tenure |
| Charles Watkins | 1935-1964 |
| Floyd Riddick | 1964-1974 |
| Murray Zweben | 1974-1981 |
| Robert Dove | 1981-1987 |
| Alan Frumin | 1987-1995 |
| Robert Dove | 1995-2001 |
| Alan Frumin | 2001-2012 |
| Elizabeth MacDonough | 2012-Present |
Noteworthy advisories
117th Congress
- See also: 117th Congress
- In February 2021, Elizabeth MacDonough advised that a provision in an initial version of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 seeking to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 was merely incidental to the bill, thereby disqualifying it from being considered through the reconciliation process.[2]
- On April 6, 2021, MacDonough advised that a revised budget resolution could use the reconciliation process in the same fiscal year. She pointed to Section 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which states that "the two Houses may adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which revises or reaffirms the concurrent resolution on the budget for such fiscal year most recently agreed to."[15]
- On May 28, 2021, MacDonough issued further guidance on using the reconciliation process more than once in a fiscal year. She said it could be done by revising a budget outline. The measure would still need to go through the committee process and be subject to votes on amendments. MacDonough also said that there needed to be a legitimate reason, such as an economic downturn, to prompt the revision.[16]
- On September 19, 2021, MacDonough advised that incorporating a pathway to citizenship into a $3.5 trillion spending package was not appropriate. She said, "The policy changes of this proposal far outweigh the budgetary impact scored to it and it is not appropriate for inclusion in reconciliation."[17]
See also
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Reconciliation process and details: |
Reconciliation origin, historical use, and analysis: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Senate.gov, "Glossary Term: Parliamentarian," accessed April 7, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Wall Street Journal, "Meet the Senate Parliamentarian, Referee in Minimum-Wage Debate," February 26, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Senate.gov, "First Official Parliamentarian," accessed April 7, 2021
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Office of the Parliamentarian in the House and Senate," November 28, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Introduction to Budget 'Reconciliation,'" December 12, 2024
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action," December 12, 2024
- ↑ Law.cornell.edu, "2 U.S. Code § 644 - Extraneous matter in reconciliation legislation," December 12, 2024
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Congressman Gerry Connolly, "Progressives Urge Biden Administration to Overrule Senate Parliamentarian," March 1, 2021
- ↑ Constitutioncenter.org, "Who is the Senate Parliamentarian and what does she do?" December 21, 2024
- ↑ Governing.com, "The History of Congressional Parliamentarians and Why They Matter," January 22, 2025
- ↑ Time, "Man in the Middle: Health Reform's Reconciliation Ref," March 3, 2010
- ↑ New York Times, "Rules Keeper Is Dismissed By Senate, Official Says," January 22, 2025
- ↑ Washington Post, "Key Senate Official Loses Job in Dispute With GOP," January 22, 2025
- ↑ Gold, Martin B. (2018). Senate Procedure and Practice. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. (page 17)
- ↑ CBS News, "Senate parliamentarian clears way for Democrats to use reconciliation for infrastructure bill," April 6, 2021
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Senate Ruling May Complicate Democrats’ Infrastructure Push," June 2, 2021
- ↑ The Hill, "Senate parliamentarian nixes Democrats' immigration plan," September 19, 2021
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