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Democrats are warning they won't tolerate GOP stonewalling as they try to make good on their pledge to enact a bold agenda and avoid Obama-era missteps.

Fresh off a big win on coronavirus relief, Democrats are facing intense pressure not to water down their legislative priorities after years of a backed-up wish list during the Trump era and a decade since the party has had a unified governmentit could use to muscle through sweeping reforms considered anathema to the GOP.

We will try to get them to work with us. But if not, we will put our heads together and figure out how to go, Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerDemocrats make low-tax states an offer they should refuse Biden must keep his health care promises FEMA pauses flood insurance rate update after Schumer pushback: report MORE (D-N.Y.) told reporters.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem JeffriesHakeem Sekou JeffriesDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Anger over anti-Asian violence, rhetoric rips through Capitol Democratic majority shrinks, but finds unity MORE (N.Y.) was more blunt, calling GOP leadership divorced from reality for opposing policies that are popular even among Republicans outside the Beltway.

Our standard for bipartisanship can no longer be what happens here in the Capitol, because we know that the strategy of my colleagues, legislatively, is not to try and find common ground it's obstruction and mischaracterization, he said. They ran this playbook during the Obama administration. ... They are running the same playbook again.

We will not let them get away with it," he added.

The plow-ahead strategy is significant with a host of big agenda items looming in the coming months, including sweeping proposals addressing infrastructure needs, climate change and fixes to the Affordable Care Act.

Rep. John YarmuthJohn Allen YarmuthDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Democratic majority shrinks, but finds unity On The Money: Biden celebrates relief bill with Democratic leaders | Democrats debate fast-track for infrastructure package MORE (D-Ky.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Democrats would prefer bipartisan proposals, particularly on issues like infrastructure that are widely popular in both parties. But Democrats have no intention of letting up, he added, when it comes to pursuing legislation that polls well among voters of all stripes. With that strategy, Democrats are all but daring Senate Republicans to oppose policies popular on both sides of the aisle.

"We're going to keep putting stuff over there, because Schumer's going to keep putting it on the floor and make them cast bad votes," Yarmuth said.

The political reality is two-fold: Democrats, particularly in the House, are disgusted with GOP colleagues who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and feel little incentive to offer an olive branch. And in a significant shift from the Obama years, theres a growing belief within the party that going small or letting priorities stall out in hopes of making them bipartisan is the wrong tact.

I think its significant. Holding out and not getting it. Or you know, holding out and having [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell or [then-House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor, at the time, say Hey look guys, were not going along with any of this,' said Sen. Tim KaineTimothy (Tim) Michael KaineDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP This week: Senate works to confirm Biden picks ahead of break Kaine says he still has tingling sensations, hot spots after coronavirus infection MORE (D-Va.), about the lessons learned from the Obama administration.

I think the balance were trying to strike is: Were not going to wait around to do what the public needs, but we want your good ideas, he added.

Unlike in the Obama era, the growing desire to not let Republicans stonewall Democrats priorities is being coupled with the fallout from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that has deepened partisan rancor, particularly in the majoritarian-run House where 139 Republicans voted to challenge election results.

Were still getting some of these confused messages from our colleagues about the insurrectionary violence that took place," said Rep. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Calls grow from lawmakers for IRS to extend filing deadline The world abandoned COVID-19's best antidote: Whistleblowers MORE (D-Md.). "I think some of our colleagues are experiencing serious cognitive dissonance because their rhetoric is to support the police, but when our police were violently and viciously attacked for hours by fascist insurrectionist[s], they turned the other cheek."

Raskin added that he is willing to work with Republicans on positive legislation but added a warning: Im not going to entrust anything valuable to my country to those people.

House Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP GOP hammers Democrats over Iowa Democrat's election challenge 14 Republicans vote against resolution condemning Myanmar military coup MORE (D-Md.) summed up the first quarter of 2021 as a volatile, sad, dangerous period in the Congress's history.

Those tensions have been on display as conservatives have led an effort to gum up the House floor, an effort that doesnt successfully prevent Democratic priorities from passing but does cause big headaches for leadership.

On the Senate side, Sen. Ron JohnsonRonald (Ron) Harold JohnsonThe Hill's Morning Report - Biden: Back to the future on immigration, Afghanistan, Iran Democrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Johnson, Grassley indecision freezes key Senate races MORE (R-Wis.) sparked broad backlash for telling a radio host that he wasnt afraid during the Jan. 6 attack by a pro-Trump mob, but if "those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned."

Hoyer called it a racist statement, and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) called Johnson a racist. In an acknowledged break with chambers typical clubby decorum, Sen. Bob MenendezRobert (Bob) MenendezDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Border surge scrambles Senate immigration debate Democratic senators urge Biden to take executive action on ghost guns MORE (D-N.J.) used a speech on the Senate floor to call Johnson a racist and accuse him of spreading bigoted tropes.

The verbal fireworks come even as Democrats, particularly in the Senate, stress that theres still interest in working with Republicans, who they are in constant touch with on myriad lower-profile issues.

I will always do everything I possibly can to try to find common ground, said Sen. Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP On The Money: IRS chief says unemployment recipients shouldn't file amended tax returns | GOP senator blocks bill to prevent private debt collectors from seizing stimulus checks GOP senator blocks bill to prevent private debt collectors from seizing stimulus checks MORE (D-Ore.). The question becomes, what do you do if the other side just says 'No way'? And what Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Johnson, Grassley indecision freezes key Senate races Republicans set to rebound big in 2022 midterms, unless... MORE did in 2009, he said, 'MyNo. 1 goal is to stop Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP There's a five-alarm crisis on the border and Team Biden imposes a media blackout Future of the GOP? The art, promise and lesson of politics MORE from getting reelected.'

Democrats want infrastructure to be bipartisan, and the Biden administration has been in touch with GOP senators as recently as Thursday.

But there are deep divisions over the scope of the bill and key aspects like how to pay for it, leading Democrats to acknowledge that theyll likely need to lean on their own members and pass it through reconciliation.

"What I have seen this year and in past years is that if we want to do something significant, it is very hard to get Republican support," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie SandersBernie SandersDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP The Memo: Two months in, strong Biden faces steep climbs Cotton: Democrats' infrastructure bill will be focused on higher taxes, 'Green New Deal' MORE (I-Vt.). If Republicans are prepared to support a significant and important piece of legislation that deals with climate change, deals with infrastructure, that's great. My own feeling is at this point I doubt that that will be the case.

Meanwhile, the House is sending over a slate of bills that represent big agenda items but that were passed along party lines, putting growing pressure on Democrats to nix the filibuster orriskletting GOP opposition stall their priorities.

Among that slate of legislation are bills to expand background checks prior to gun sales and extend citizenship to Dreamers two ideas with overwhelming popular support across the country, but not among Republicans on Capitol Hill. Democrats are increasingly using that popular support not the stance of GOP lawmakers as a gauge for what theyll bring to the floor.

Im just pleased that what were doing here very much has bipartisan support outside the Congress, said Rep. Rashida TlaibRashida Harbi TlaibDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP Pelosi says top Democrats won't back measure to expel Greene House Democrats push to create public reminder of Jan. 6 riot MORE (D-Mich.). And I think that matters more than whats happening here.

Democrats dont have the votes, currently, to nix the filibuster, which requires 60 votes for most legislation, and Republicans havent actually filibustered a bill yet this year. But supporters argue that watching Republicans block bills that have 50 Democratic votes and broad bipartisan support could move senators who are on the fence about changing the rules.

Wyden, who supports the "talking" filibuster, described the Senate as kind of at an inflection point, questioning the tenability of blocking bills that garner support from a swath of their own voters.

If, as we saw on the Recovery Act, we continue to say, A, we would like to work together,B, show that were serious about it things like doing it for a sufficient amount of time and then, C, and then go forward with an agenda ... where the individual items get strong support from Republicans, I dont know how they're going to be able to find that a winning strategy, Wyden said.

I cant recall a time when Ive seen strong support from Republican voters at the kind of grassroots level in terms of the individual items, he added, and then Republicans saying, 'Were not going to support it.'

After the Jan. 6 attack and the exit of the mercurial Trump administration, some lawmakers said they were hoping for a return to a more gracious era of bipartisan cooperation. Since that hasnt happened, some Democrats suggested they have no choice but to plow ahead with the agenda voters elected them to pursue.

I was hoping that after the inauguration, after things settled down, that we would get a spirit of bipartisanship. But it doesnt seem to be coming, said Rep. G.K. ButterfieldGeorge (G.K.) Kenneth ButterfieldDemocrats vow to go 'bold' with or without GOP CBC 'unequivocally' endorses Shalanda Young for White House budget chief Black Caucus members lobby Biden to tap Shalanda Young for OMB head MORE (D-N.C.). The question is: Do we continue to wait, or do we legislate?

I think the decision is to go forward with legislation.

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