WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s so-called “one big, beautiful bill” is getting smaller.

In recent days, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has taken shears to the sweeping tax and spending legislation, leaving multiple provisions on the cutting-room floor as Republicans press for a final vote as soon as this week.

Gone are GOP-led efforts to curb environmental regulations, attempts to restrict federal judges’ powers, plans to bulk up immigration enforcement and to cut funding from the federal agency launched to protect American consumers after the 2008 financial crisis. MacDonough determined each item was in violation of a critical Senate rule that prohibit extraneous measures in bills like the one Trump wants on his desk for signature by July 4.

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The loss of these and other items complicates the already difficult endeavor for Republicans who are trying to secure Trump a big second-term win on Capitol Hill. Trump has given Congress the artificial Independence Day deadline to get the legislation passed. But with less than two weeks left until the country’s 249th birthday, leadership in both chambers have a near-Herculean task before them if they’re going to meet the Republican president’s demands.

“To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK,” Trump wrote in a June 24 Truth Social post. “Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE.”

Environment-related provisions get struck

Multiple measures seeking to ease environmental regulations were atop the list of items struck from the bill. MacDonough, the Senate’s lead procedural expert since 2012, ruled they were outside the purview of the at-issue legislation because the language doesn’t directly affect the federal budget.

Provisions that would deem offshore oil and gas projects automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act were among those cut, along with an effort to repeal recent U.S. EPA emission limits for vehicles.

The parliamentarian also ruled against forcing the U.S. Postal Service to scrap thousands of electric vehicles and charging equipment.

Trump’s critics are urging MacDonough to keep making cuts to the bill.

“Democrats continue to show up and fight every provision of this Big, Beautiful Betrayal of a bill, because this bill is an attack on workers and families everywhere,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. “Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules

Immigration enforcement changes a no-go

MacDonough also has carved a category of immigration-related provisions out of the Senate Republicans’ bill, including a restriction on grant funds for “sanctuary” cities.

Also tossed on this front: Increased immigration enforcement powers for state and local authorities, and repeals to Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for non-citizens.

What else did the parliamentarian strike?

The parliamentarian ruled against the proposed elimination of funds for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency created during the Obama administration after the Great Recession to protect “consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices.”

Republican Senators had kept a House-approved provision restricting federal judges’ ability to block government policies, but that effort was dashed during MacDonough’s review as well.

Democrats are pushing for the removal of a measure that would soften regulations on gun silencers, eliminating the need to register and pay a $200 fee on the equipment.

“This change … would be catastrophic to public safety and greatly impede law enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe,” a group of House Democrats wrote in a letter to Senate Republicans.

States to shoulder some SNAP costs after all

Republicans’ House-passed bill had included a measure that would shift some food aid costs onto states.

MacDonough had ruled initially that the changes to the SNAP program – long known as “Food Stamps” – did not comply with Senate rules. But she gave Republicans the green light on June 24 after they some tweaking to the language that included giving states additional buffers before they have to start paying into the program.

The reversal is great news for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, who is working to corral colleagues concerned about too much federal government spending. The SNAP reform is expected to save billions and help offset revenue lost from an extension of Trump’s first-term tax cuts.

“I am confident we will get this bill across the finish line,” Thune wrote in a June 23 opinion piece.

Tough news for Trump’s agenda

Legislation typically requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate. Otherwise, the minority party can mount a filibuster and sink the bill.

An exception to the rule: Reconciliation. Under this complicated process, the Senate majority can avoid filibuster threats with a simple 51-vote majority, in exchange for meeting strict criteria that prohibits anything not directly related to the federal budget.

Under these conditions, MacDonough, the Senate’s first female nonpartisan rule keeper, has found multiple provisions within the massive tax bill in violation.

Results of the fat-trimming process, known as the “Byrd Bath” in Senate lingo in honor of the late-Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, means Trump and Republicans will have to find another way to achieve several of the president’s legislative priorities. That could mean negotiating with Democrats, a tricky task in the hyper-partisan legislature.

In the meantime, Thune must find a way to get the majority of his members behind Trump’s slimmer megabill.

Contributing: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY; Reuters