Overruling the Senate Parliamentarian Means Nothing is Safe from Congressional Overreach

For Immediate Release: May 21, 2025
Contact: David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Republicans today may override the Senate Parliamentarian to pass three controversial Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval, which target Clean Air Act emissions waivers issued to the state of California and impact 11 other states plus the District of Columbia. Rachel Weintraub, executive director of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, released the following statement:

“This vote would represent the most flagrant and consequential abuse of the Congressional Review Act in its 30-year history. Virtually every sector of the American economy and every area of public and civic life are affected by actions and adjudicatory orders that federal bodies issue on a daily basis. If Senate Republicans overrule the parliamentarian, it will send a loud and clear message that nothing is safe from partisan overreach and intrusion.

“Overruling the Senate Parliamentarian for these Clean Air Act waivers means a majority can do it for anything. There’s no precedent or process stopping a majority of either party from doing it again and again and again forever, despite what Senate Republicans are claiming. It’s tantamount to repealing the filibuster – but doing it in the most extreme, partisan, corrupt, and arbitrary way possible.

“This fundamentally changes the Senate from an institution that adheres to its own laws and rules into a free-for-all where laws and rules can be tossed aside whenever a majority finds it expedient. This not only makes the Senate more like the House, which most Senators purport to loathe. It makes the Senate far more chaotic – a place where anything goes and the rules don’t matter. That’s the last thing our country needs right now.”

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