McConnell threatens retaliation if Democrats change filibuster rules

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said Republicans would immediately retaliate if Democrats change the Senate's filibuster rules.

Driving the news: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to colleagues earlier this month that the Senate will debate and vote on changing Senate rules by next Monday if Republicans block a vote on the Freedom to Vote Act.

State of play: McConnell argued Senate Democrats will "silence ... millions of Americans" if they get rid of the rule, which requires a 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation.

What he's saying: "If my colleague tries to break the Senate to silence those millions of Americans, we will make their voices heard in this chamber in ways that are more inconvenient for the majority and this White House than what anybody has seen in living memory."

What we're watching: President Biden in a speech Tuesday is expected to throw his support behind changing the Senate's filibuster rules in an effort to pass voting rights legislation.