McConnell Says GOP Will Retaliate If Democrats End Filibuster
- Democrats under pressure to get ride of Senate rule on debate
- Liberal groups urge the change to push through Biden agenda
This article is for subscribers only.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell fired a warning shot at Democrats against jettisoning the filibuster to push through President Joe Biden’s agenda over GOP opposition, threatening to shut down the most routine business in retaliation.
Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell reminded Democrats that a single senator could prevent the chamber from convening before noon, require every bill on the floor to be read in full before debate, or bar noncontroversial nominees from moving through with speed. In a Senate that is split 50-50 between the two parties, he said, anyone could demand that 51 senators be present for any work -- and Vice President Kamala Harris can’t break that tie.