McConnell warns the Senate 'would function more like a 100-car pile-up' if Democrats kill the filibuster

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  • McConnell warned that the Senate would become a "100-car pile-up" if Democrats kill the filibuster.

  • Killing the filibuster "would not open up an express lane to liberal change," McConnell said.

  • McConnell has sought to defend the filibuster as Democrats make calls to eliminate the rule.

  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday again threatened to throw the upper chamber into chaos should Democrats decide to kill the filibuster, a 60-vote requirement that has increasingly stymied legislation.

"Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues: Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like," the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

McConnell's warning came after the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, criticized the filibuster on Monday as a "mockery of American democracy" that "promotes gridlock."

Since President Joe Biden took office and Democrats won the Senate, the party has set out to check off their legislative priorities, from passing coronavirus stimulus to addressing climate change and strengthening voting rights. Yet many progressive Democrats have raised concerns over whether they'll be able to achieve their agenda in an evenly-split 50-50 Senate, as the filibuster allows Republicans to delay or prevent passage of bills through endless debate unless a 60-vote threshold is met.

As a result, many progressives, such as Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have led calls to change the rule or eliminate it altogether, to the alarm of top GOP members, including McConnell, who has sought to defend it.

Killing the filibuster "would not open up an express lane to liberal change," McConnell said Tuesday. "It would not open up an express lane for the Biden presidency to speed into the history books."

"The Senate would be more like a hundred-car pile-up," he said. "Nothing moving."

McConnell in January fought for assurances to keep the filibuster in place from two moderate Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. But on Tuesday, he reiterated his threat to bring the Senate to a standstill if the Democrats choose to go back on their word and help wipe out the filibuster.

If that were to happen, McConnell said, Republicans would push through conservative policies such as defunding Planned Parenthood, ending sanctuary cities and hardening border security "with zero input from the other side" once they regain the Senate majority.

Democrats recently bypassed the filibuster through a process known as budget reconciliation in order to approve Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus legislation, which no Republicans supported. With an infrastructure package on the horizon, some Democrats have floated options to override the filibuster again.

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