With unmatched hostility to the political establishment and an energy unlike anything seen before in modern American politics, Donald Trump promised swift and fundamental change on the campaign trail. After a few months on the job, though, the populist president appears pacified.

The leader of the free world stands powerless against a little lawyer in the Senate named Elizabeth MacDonough. She’s not a senator. She’s the Senate’s unelected parliamentarian. And she’s the one keeping Trump from fulfilling his promise to fully repeal Obamacare.

Recommended Stories

Conservative groups: Senate can fully repeal Obamacare if it wants to

Obamacare abortion funding restriction nixed from megabill by parliamentarian

House Freedom Caucus members: Karl Rove, stop blaming us for dysfunction in Congress