Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday threatened to turn the Senate into a “100-car pileup” and block “even the most basic aspects” of its business if Democrats get rid of legislative obstruction as progressives are. asking.
McConnell, R-Ky., Made the comments in a plenary speech on Tuesday that was similar to others he had previously given during the heightened conversation about how to get rid of the obstruction.
“So let me say this very clearly to all 99 of my colleagues. No one serving in this House can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched earth Senate would be like,” said McConnell. “None of us served a minute in a Senate that was completely lacking in courtesy and consent. This is an institution that requires unanimous consent to turn on the lights before noon, to proceed with a speech on a varied floor.”
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McConnell added: “I want our colleagues to imagine a world where each task, each one, requires a physical quorum. Which, by the way, the vice president does not count in determining a quorum. That chaos would not open up an expressway for liberal changes … The Senate would be more like a 100-car pileup, without moving. “
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. Walks to speak at the Senate plenary at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, January 25, 2021.
(AP)
McConnell made similar threats in January, while negotiating an organizational resolution with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. McConnell demanded that the agreement include a written pledge to protect the obstruction, but he relented after several Democratic senators pledged to preserve the 60-vote limit on the bills.
Now progressives are again pressing Democrats to get rid of the practice, which some see as the key to forcing Senate collaboration, but some Democrats say it is a relic of the Jim Crow era. Notably, Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., whose support for the obstruction was instrumental in assuring McConnell that she would remain in place, said on Fox News Sunday earlier this month that, while he still supports the obstruction, he wants to make it it politically “more painful” to use.
“You may have to stay there,” said Manchin, apparently opening the door to remove the obstruction in its current form and imposing a “permanent” obstruction. The obstruction in its current form forces the Senate to have 60 votes to end the debate on part of the legislation and only forces obstructive senators to vote against ending the debate.
A “permanent” or “talking” obstruction would essentially require the minority party that tries to block the legislation to constantly hold the Senate floor to block a vote to end debate on a bill. But if they give the floor, the majority party can schedule a simple majority vote to end the debate, paving the way for a bill to be passed.
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The pressure to get rid of the obstruction comes not only from progressive activists, but also from Democrats in the Senate. The Senate majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., At the Senate floor on Monday attacked the obstructionist in a speech.
Senator Joe Manchin, DW.V., arrives for President Trump’s impeachment trial at the Capitol on January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC
(MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
“Today, almost 65 years after Strom Thurmond’s Jim Crow defense marathon, the obstructionist is still mocking American democracy. The obstruction is still being misused by some senators to urgently block necessary legislation and supported by a strong majority of the American people, “he said. “This is what seems to be hitting the bottom of the law. Today’s obstructionists have turned the most deliberative body in the world into one of Organs most ineffective bodies in the world.”
Durbin said he preferred to return to “permanent obstruction”.
“If a senator insists on blocking the Senate’s will, he [or she] you must pay a minimum price to be present. No more calling, “said Durbin.” If your principles are so important, defend them, say what you think, keep your word and show your determination. “
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This proposal would put an end to the general ability of a minority to prevent any legislation and, essentially, it would establish a test of wills between the minority and the majority on the approval of a certain legislative act.
McConnell quoted Durbin from a 2018 interview with ABC on Tuesday, in which he said obstruction is essential for the Senate.
Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Speaks to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the fourth day of hearings on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Thursday, October 15, 2020, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh, Pool)
“I can say that it would be the end of the Senate, as it was originally conceived and created since our Founding Fathers,” said Durbin of getting rid of the obstruction. “We have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the Senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure.”
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McConnell also quoted Schumer calling the obstruction “the most important distinction between the Senate and the House”. He also warned that “majorities are never permanent” and said that Republicans, when they return to Senate control, [they] not only would it erase all liberal changes “, but it would implement a litany of its preferred policies with” zero entry to the other side “.
“My colleagues and I refused to kill the Senate for instant gratification. In 2017 and 2018, I was pressured to do exactly what Democrats want to do now. An incumbent president leaned on me to do that. He tweeted about it. “said McConnell. “I said no several times. Because becoming a US senator implies higher duties than removing any obstacle to short-term power.”
He added: “I meant it. The Republicans were serious. Less than two months ago, two of our Democratic colleagues also said they were serious. If they keep their word, we will have a bipartisan majority that can put principles first and maintain the safe Senate. “
Ronn Blitzer of Fox News contributed to this report.