By skyforbes 
Senate Parliamentarian rejects key Medicaid cuts totaling hundreds of billions, striking a major blow to Republican strategy
In a totally unexpected blow to Trump’s outrageous Senate bill, Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has rejected key Medicaid provisions in the Senate GOP megabill, a ruling that strikes a major blow to the harsh Republican strategy to cut federal spending. MacDonough is a little-known Washington functionary who acts as a referee for major legislation.
She firmly rejected the plan to cap states’ use of health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding. This proposal would have generated hundreds of billions of savings to offset Trump’s corporate tax cuts becoming permanent.
The bill was already in trouble. In a strange brew of politics and paybacks, several Republican Senators united to push back against the legislation, including unlikely allies like Josh Hawley (R-Mo) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). If it passed, it would force the closure of dozens of rural hospitals in their states.
Democrats are also opposed, pointing out that the bill would gut Medicaid, take apart the Affordable Care Act, and remove kids, veterans, seniors, and disabled Americans, just to fund tax breaks for…