Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is warning Democrats that there will be “consequences” if Democrats go forward with their accelerated confirmation schedule for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. In a floor speech this morning, McConnell said that Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy’s decision to begin the Sotomayor hearings on July 13 — a faster pace than followed in the Roberts, Alito, and Breyer nominations — is “puzzling.” And then came McConnell’s warning:

[Sen. Leahy’s decision] risks resulting in a less-informed hearing, and it breaks with years of tradition in which bipartisan agreements were reached and honored over the scheduling of hearings for Supreme Court nominees. And it damages the cordiality and good will the Senate relies on to do its business. These kinds of partisan maneuvers have always come with consequences. This time is no different.