Senate Parliamentarian Rejects Budget Bill’s Court Contempt Provision - Articles

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Senate Parliamentarian Rejects Budget Bill’s Court Contempt Provision

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jun 26, 2025

The U.S. Senate parliamentarian has rejected several provisions in the tax and spending package recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, finding that the language violates the Byrd Rule, which prohibits non-budgetary provisions in reconciliation bills. Among the provisions flagged was one some believe could weaken the power of U.S. judges to enforce contempt when the government defies court orders. Other provisions targeted include language giving states authority to conduct border security and immigration enforcement and barring noncitizens or permanent residents from receiving federal nutrition benefits. Republican leadership may choose to strip these or others from the bill. If left in, any senator may object to their inclusion on the Senate floor. Overcoming such a challenge would take a three-fifths vote of the body, or 60 votes. By contrast, the parliamentarian ruled that a provision prohibiting states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) did pass muster. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee’s senior senator, has been working to remove that language from the bill, The Tennessee Journal reports. Learn more about all elements of the parliamentarian’s ruling from The Hill and about the Byrd Rule from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.