BURSTThe Senate parliamentarian says Republicans cannot include a measure that would force the sale of electric vehicles (EVs) used by the U.S. Postal Service in their “big, beautiful bill.”
The sweeping GOP budget and policy bill included a provision that would have required the General Service Administration, which handles the equipment used by government agencies, to sell all electric vehicles owned by the Postal Service.
But Democrats announced on Sunday that the parliamentarian, a nonpartisan arbiter of the upper chamber’s rules, found that this provision did not pass muster.
“There is no better way to define this Big Beautiful Betrayal of a bill than families lose, and billionaires win,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a written statement alongside the announcement. “The Byrd Rule is enshrined in law for a reason, and Democrats are making sure it is enforced.”
The Republican bill seeking to advance much of President Trump's agenda is going through a special process known as “budget reconciliation” that allows it to avoid the Senate’s typical 60-vote threshold and pass legislation with a simple majority — avoiding the need for any Democrat votes in order to pass the bill.
However, to qualify for reconciliation, the policies that are included in the bill need to comply with the “Byrd Rule” which prevents “extraneous” measures from being included in this type of legislation.