Tensions between Schumer and McConnell rise as Senate prepares to address voting rights legislation

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are in a stand-off as Senate Democrats prepare to force a debate over voting rights legislation — promising to change the legislative filibuster in order to pass election-related bills without bipartisan support should Republicans not budge.  

Both Schumer and McConnell blasted one another in back-to-back speeches on the Senate floor on Monday, offering Americans a preview of the arguments that are likely to dominate next week’s voting rights debate, The Hill reported.

Schumer was quick to accuse Republicans of supporting the “big lie” — a reference to former President Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen — by utilizing the 60-vote legislative filibuster in order to block the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

"Our Republican colleagues have gone to great lengths recently to distract from the dangers of Donald Trump's big lie. ... By blocking these chambers from taking any action, Senate Republicans are implicitly offering their own endorsement of the big lie," Schumer said.

Republicans have previously used the 60-vote legislative filibuster to block the bills, arguing such legislation is a clear example of federal overreach.

Should Republican lawmakers once again employ this tactic, Schumer is expected to force a debate challenging the filibuster.

So far, however, Democrats don't have the numbers to change the rules on their own — and Democratic Sens. Manchin and Sinema have stood firm in their opposition to changing the rules.

"If Republicans refuse to join us in a bipartisan spirit, if they continue to hijack the rules of the Senate to turn this chamber into a deep freezer, we're going to consider the appropriate steps necessary to restore the Senate so we can pass these proposals and send them to the president's desk," Schumer said.

McConnell was also quick to attack his Democratic colleagues, accusing them of using “entirely fake” reasons for attempting to change senate procedures.

"If Senate Democratic leaders are trying to use the big lie to bully and berate their own members into breaking the Senate, we're going to spend all week sounding the alarm on the radical takeover that some Democrats want to pull off," he said.

McConnell went on to remind the floor that he previously refused to give into pressure from former President Trump to “nuke the filibuster” and argued that doing so would "cause a massive political power outage for many millions of American citizens."

"If this unique feature of the Senate is blown up, millions and millions of Americans' voices will cease to be heard in this chamber. ... What the Democratic leader wants to do would not protect our democracy or our system of government. It would destroy a key feature," McConnell said.