Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that he expects most of the crucial provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to be in the version the Senate passes, even though the Senate parliamentarian has stricken some because they don’t conform to reconciliation rules.

Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian since 2012, is an unelected official who advises senators on following the chamber’s rules. Earlier this week, she determined that many provisions in the signature legislation of President Donald Trump’s second term did not qualify for budget reconciliation under the Byrd Rule.

The reconciliation package must undergo a “Byrd bath” to eliminate all provisions that the parliamentarian believes are more about making policy changes than adjusting the federal budget. Such eliminated provisions would need 60 votes to pass a filibuster, a tough task for the Republican majority, given how divided the Senate is.

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