(CNN) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a stark warning Tuesday about how Republicans would grind the chamber to a halt if Democrats changed the filibuster rules, leading to a "completely scorched earth Senate.".
The Kentucky Republican defended the 60-vote threshold on the legislative filibuster in a floor speech, cautioning Democrats that if they moved to change the rules of the filibuster, it would not open up an express lane for the Biden administration to push through their agenda.
Instead, Republicans would use every rule and option at their disposal to halt the chamber, making the Senate "more like a 100-car pileup, nothing moving.".
Majority Whip Dick Durbin told reporters he's not concerned about McConnell's threats to slow the Senate if Democrats change the filibuster because "he has already done that.".
McConnell also laid out the conservative agenda Republicans would swiftly move on the next time they take control of Congress and White House, most of which Democrats would vehemently oppose -- like defunding Planned Parenthood.
The pendulum would swing both ways, "and it would swing hard," he warned. »