Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) faced a raucous crowd at a town hall this past weekend in Iowa — as constituents complained about recent actions by President Trump and Elon Musk and demanded their senator do more to oppose them.

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) “said it wasn’t clear to her that Chuck Schumer could continue in his role as Senate minority leader, and that she would not vote for him as leader should she ultimately win a highly-contested primary and general election,” Politico reports.

Said McMarrow: “There’s still this idea that Democrats and Republicans are still abiding by the same rules and still believe in the same norms and systems and structure. There seems to be a lack of recognition that this is no longer the Republican Party. This is a MAGA party. And the same approach is not going to work.”

Aaron Blake: “To lead your party in either the House or the Senate is to consent to being disliked. The difficult and often thankless job involves wrangling disparate interests in your caucus, making hard decisions and sometimes falling on a political grenade or two for your side. So it should be no surprise that most recent congressional leaders were pretty unpopular.”

“But even against that backdrop, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) is in a bad spot.”

“A defiant Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed that he won’t step aside as the chamber’s top Democrat, rejecting calls from some House colleagues and liberal advocates critical of his move to help pass a Republican funding bill,” NBC News reports.

Said Schumer: “Look, I’m not stepping down.”

Wall Street Journal: “As Democrats tussle with each other on Capitol Hill and struggle to find a strategy to combat Trump’s fast-moving agenda, Sanders is stepping into the void and pitching his prescription for how they can start winning again.”

“In what he described as his largest rally ever, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke to a crowd that filled Denver’s Civic Center on Friday evening, railing against billionaires and President Donald Trump while listeners chanted and nodded along, the Denver Post reports.

Said Sanders: “In the hundreds of rallies that I have done, we have never, ever had a rally as large as this.”

“Senate Democrats are launching a new whistleblower portal for public and private workers to dish on how President Trump and DOGE are slashing the federal government,” Axios reports.

“Democrats hope whistleblowers will expose what they argue are the White House’s illegal moves to unilaterally dismantle federal agencies and programs.”

Tara Palmeri: “Republicans have had a remarkable two week stretch—they made Schumer blink and pass the continuing resolution. He in turn had his ass handed to him by everyone from Nancy Pelosi to AOC. But in the next two months there is a high probability that Republicans will be crawling back to Schumer when they have to raise the debt ceiling again, something that no Republican wants to put on their scorecard.”

“Trump relied on Democrats three times during his first term to raise the limit. In fact, just 65 Republicans in the House and 17 in the Senate voted in favor of it in 2019. Given this dynamic, it would seem impossible to pass it along a party-lines through reconciliation. It’s only happened four times in history and surely Republicans are not in a position to make that happen when they only have two to three votes to lose. Raising the debt ceiling is the critical first step before passing the real prize for Republicans—tax reform.”

“The trap for Republicans could be the thing that gives Schumer his mojo back—an opportunity to restore his reputation by winning some concessions for Democrats. But after this past week, the expectations from the party are going to be steep.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) warned this week that Republicans are being intimidated into silence by Elon Musk and other pro-Trump influencers, in a fiery takedown of the political climate in her party, Mediaite reports.

Said Murkowski: “I’m not going to compromise my own integrity by hiding from my words when I feel they need to be spoken. I’m going to take the criticism that comes. And it may be that Elon Musk has decided he’s going to take the next billion dollars that he makes off of Starlink and put it directly against Lisa Murkowski.”

She added: “That’s why you’ve got everybody just. Like, ziplipped, not saying a word, because they’re afraid they’re going to be taken down, they’re going to be primaried, they’re going to be given names in the media. You know what? We cannot be cowed into not speaking up.”

“Michael Bennet stopped short of calling for Chuck Schumer to step aside as Senate Democrats’ leader — though he pointedly compared the situation to the party’s internal strife over then-President Joe Biden serving as the party’s nominee last summer,” Politico reports.

Said Bennet: “It’s important for people to know when it’s time to go, and I think in the case of Joe Biden, and we’re going to have conversations I’m sure in the foreseeable future, about all the Democratic leadership.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said her Republican colleagues are afraid of challenging President Donald Trump or Elon Musk, warning that she could face an expensive primary challenge for her criticism of the administration, Politico reports.

Said Murkowski: “They’re looking at how many things are being thrown at me, and it’s like, ‘maybe I just better duck and cover.’ That’s why you’ve got everybody just like, zip lip, not saying a word because they’re afraid they’re going to be taken down. They’re going to be primaried. They’re going to be given names in the media.”

“A recent chance encounter there between bitter 2024 campaign rivals, however, reveals how the overheated political climate is becoming less and less hospitable to cross-partisan bonhomie, particularly when immigration is a chief concern,” The Bulwark reports.

“As Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) headed toward the elevator to leave on a recent late-winter day, he ran into his former opponent, the infamous Trump acolyte Kari Lake. As Gallego went for a handshake, Lake accepted it with both hands—a gesture that usually accompanies a warm greeting. What she said was anything but that.”

Said Lake: “How does it feel to be bought and paid for by the cartels?”

“Gallego was taken aback, according to a person familiar with the exchange.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) specifically asked California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) aides for a chance to speak about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Newsom’s podcast — even after the original discussion had already been recorded, Politico reports.

Punchbowl News: “Of the 10 Senate Democrats who voted to advance the GOP-drafted government funding bill last week, one name stands out: Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).”

“Schatz was agonizing over his vote more than most Democrats, per our conversations with his colleagues. It’s not difficult to see why.”

“That vote, which has prompted a ton of backlash from activists and the party base, was one of the clearest signs yet that Schatz is angling for a prominent leadership role in the Senate Democratic Caucus.”

“Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a sharp critique of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday, suggesting he had forfeited a crucial bargaining chip by allowing a vote on Republicans’ government funding bill,” Politico reports.

Said Pelosi: “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing. I think that’s what happened the other day.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should remain at the top of the party ranks despite the outcry over his support for a GOP spending bill last week, The Hill reports.