A behind-the-scenes gatekeeper in the U.S. Senate just threw a wrench into Republican efforts to squeeze a sweeping judicial clampdown into Donald Trump’s colossal tax-and-spending package—dubbed, with characteristic flair, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate’s parliamentarian and quiet rule-keeper, delivered her weekend verdict: the GOP’s attempt to limit judges from halting federal policies doesn’t fly under budget reconciliation rules. Translation? If Republicans want to keep the provision, they’ll need 60 votes—an unlikely feat in the current political landscape.
At the heart of the rejected provision is a rule change that would make it harder for judges to issue preliminary injunctions against federal actions—unless plaintiffs cough up a bond to cover potential government costs if the decision gets reversed later. Critics say that’s a veiled threat to judicial independence, designed to price out challengers.
Senate Democrats are celebrating the ruling. Chuck Schumer blasted the Republican proposal as a direct assault on constitutional safeguards, accusing the GOP of trying to write Trump’s disdain for the judiciary into law.
Crafted by Senate Judiciary Republicans under Chuck Grassley, the clause mirrors earlier moves by the House. That version would have stripped courts of the power to hold officials in contempt when they defy court orders. Grassley insists the bond requirement merely enforces longstanding legal principles—but in practice, it’s rarely applied in cases where citizens sue the government, especially on constitutional grounds.
This isn’t Republicans’ first swing at limiting court authority. In April, the House passed the narrowly-approved “No Rogue Rulings Act,” which aimed to curb national injunctions. But that bill hasn’t moved in the Senate, and now, thanks to MacDonough’s ruling, the latest iteration might not either.
Meanwhile, a March White House memo quietly instructed federal agencies to demand bonds when facing injunction requests—a signal that the executive branch was already trying to price-limit lawsuits before this legislative push even began.
With the clock ticking to pass the overall bill before Independence Day, this parliamentary curveball may force Republicans to either drop the judicial language—or brace for a tougher legislative battle than they bargained for.
