Parliamentarian of the United States Senate

Official advisor on parliamentary procedure

The Parliamentarian of the United States Senate is the official advisor to the United States Senate on the interpretation of Standing Rules of the United States Senate and parliamentary procedure. Incumbent parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has held the office since 2012, appointed by then Senate majority leader Harry Reid. That ruling was extremely controversial, to such an extent that the leaders of both parties immediately met and agreed that they did not want this precedent to stand, so the next week the Senate altered the rule under consideration via standard procedure. The Senate majority leader may also fire the parliamentarian, as occurred in 2001 during a dispute between parliamentarian Robert Dove and Majority Leader Trent Lott.

An important role of the parliamentarian is to decide what can and cannot be done under the Senate's budget reconciliation process under the provisions of the Byrd Rule. These rulings are important because they allow certain bills to be approved by a simple majority, instead of the sixty votes needed to end debate and overcome a filibuster. The office also refers bills to appropriate committees on behalf of the Senate's presiding officer, and referees efforts by the ruling party to change the Senate rules by rulings from the chair. The parliamentarian is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Senate majority leader. Traditionally, the parliamentarian is chosen from senior staff in the parliamentarian office, which helps ensure consistency in the application of the Senate's complex rules. The last two parliamentarians have served under both Republican and Democratic Senate leaders. The parliamentarian's salary is $203,700 per year, as of 2022.