I think I expressed a decent amount of skepticism about whether or not the Senate Parliamentarian really told GOP leaders that the health care bill would have to be signed into law before fixes could be made in a reconciliation sidecar. They did not have a written commitment from the Parliamentarian, and, well, they’re just not above lying about this sort of thing.

Now we have CQ’s Adriel Bettelheim claiming:

Senate parliamentarian telling hill staff that GOP aides misinterpreted his opinion on health care + reconciliation process.

This fits with David Waldman’s take yesterday, and instead of quoting the Senate Parliamentarian second-hand, he cited a former Parliamentarian on the record, and the Senate rules, and a Congressional Research Service report. So I’d say the ayes go to Waldman over the anonymous GOP staffer on this one.

Ultimately, the House may choose, in the interest of clarity, to pass the Senate bill before passing a sidecar fix. But if there’s a possibility for them not to do so, and it would save certain members the ignominy of voting for some of the less flattering pieces of the Senate version, then they should at least know if the option exists.

Just another case in having to know your source and disseminate the information accordingly…