Sen. Harry Reid, Democrat and majority leader, tried to get his hand-picked parliamentarian to rule that the Senate could not take up any budget resolutions this year. Not even “should not,” but could not, because of last year’s spending deal. The aim was to keep the Senate from having to vote on any Republican proposals, but more important, to keep it from having to vote on the president’s latest budget. That budget lost the House in a humiliating rout, 414-0. Reid’s gambit was a way to run interference for the president and shield him from reality. But the parliamentarian would have none of that.
Newly appointed Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, whom Reid recommended for the job, has decided that last summer’s deal on the debt ceiling and spending caps does not preclude the Senate from taking up other budget resolutions this year. The ruling could force vulnerable Democrats to cast tough votes that hurt them in November, a situation Reid and other leaders are eager to avoid as they work to protect their fragile majority.
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