1. Elizabeth MacDonough was born on February 16,1966 and is an American lawyer and the Parliamentarian of the United States Senate since 2012.
13 Facts About Elizabeth MacDonough
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Elizabeth MacDonough is the first woman and Democrat to hold the position.
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Elizabeth MacDonough grew up near Washington DC, graduating from Greens Farms Academy in 1984 and earning her bachelor's degree from George Washington University in 1988.
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Elizabeth MacDonough began her career in 1990 as a legislative reference assistant in the Senate library and later as assistant morning business editor to the Congressional Record.
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Elizabeth MacDonough left in 1995 to attend Vermont Law School, graduating with a JD in 1998.
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Elizabeth MacDonough joined the office of the Senate Parliamentarian in May 1999 as an assistant parliamentarian and was promoted to senior assistant parliamentarian in 2002.
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Elizabeth MacDonough advised then-Vice President Al Gore on the procedure for counting ballots following Bush v Gore.
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Elizabeth MacDonough speaks publicly only once a year, to address the United States Senate Youth Program.
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In January 2017, Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan said that Elizabeth MacDonough would be the person to "watch" in the Senate, because budget reconciliation would likely again be the tool used to pass amendments to the Affordable Care Act.
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In January 2017, Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that would open the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, met the conditions of the Byrd Rule under budget reconciliation.
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In 2017, Elizabeth MacDonough read the language of Senate Rule XIX to Senator Steve Daines, presiding over a Senate session, which Daines carefully repeated while warning Sen.
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Elizabeth MacDonough received attention prior to the 2020 impeachment trial of Donald Trump due to her role in advising Chief Justice John Roberts on parliamentary procedure while presiding over the trial.
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In June 2020, Elizabeth MacDonough provided a decision to Senator Josh Hawley ruling that a vote on the senator's WTO withdrawal resolution was in order.