Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said Thursday that if Democrats pursue Vice President Kamala Harris’s plan to eliminate the filibuster to codify abortion protections, it would “turn America into California” by unleashing a wave of liberal reforms. McConnell, known for bending Senate rules to advance his own agenda, argued that removing the 60-vote threshold would empower Democrats to expand the Supreme Court, given their strong opposition to its current 6-3 conservative majority.
In an interview with Politico, McConnell stated, “So it would fundamentally, in my view, turn America to California,” describing the potential changes as a “major structural change” to the nation. He criticized Harris and progressive senators for seeking to dismantle Senate traditions to achieve their policy goals, claiming, “What they want to do is break the institution in order to achieve what they want to achieve.”
On the Senate floor, McConnell pointed to Harris’s previous support for eliminating the filibuster to pass the sweeping Green New Deal aimed at transitioning the U.S. to a clean-energy economy. He also recalled how Democrats attempted to create an exception for voting rights reform in January 2022, asserting that the vice president’s recent comments reflect a dangerous willingness to shatter Senate norms.
“The vice president’s latest comments are not novel but they are shocking,” McConnell said, criticizing the normalization of what he deemed “shortsighted radicalism” within the Democratic Party.
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Addressing the prospect of a partial filibuster carve-out for specific issues like voting rights or abortion, McConnell firmly stated, “There’s no way you can have a minor carve-out. Because then you’ll come up with the next idea that’s more important than the rule — then, practically, it’s over.”
While Democrats currently hold a narrow 51-to-49 Senate majority, analysts suggest that Republicans are favored to regain control in 2025, particularly with upcoming retirements like Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
Some Democrats, including Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), have expressed caution about changing the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade. Reed emphasized the importance of pursuing bipartisan support before altering Senate rules, stating, “We should approach it very carefully because what goes around comes around.”
As McConnell positions himself against potential changes to the filibuster, his own history of reshaping Senate rules to further his party’s agenda adds a layer of irony to the ongoing debate.
