Senate parliamentarian deals blow to Dems’ immigration push

The Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian says Democrats can’t use their $3.5 trillion package bolstering social and climate programs to give millions of immigrants a chance to become citizens. That’s according to a person informed about the decision who would only speak on condition of anonymity.

Democrats had been hoping to use a process called reconciliation to pass the immigration measure with a simple majority vote.

The decision by the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, deals a blow to what was Democrats’ clearest pathway in years to attaining that long-sought goal.

It’s a disheartening setback for President Joe Biden, congressional Democrats and their allies in the pro-immigration and progressive communities.