Most Americans trust local government over Congress to handle problems: Gallup

While most Americans have lost faith in lawmakers on Capitol Hill, a healthy majority still trusts their local government, according to a new poll.

Gallup’s annual trust in government institutions and actors poll found that 67 percent of respondents have a “great” or “fair amount” of faith in local government, while just 32 percent say they have faith Congress.

“They may see these levels of government as more responsive to their concerns and more capable, as the federal government continues to suffer from gridlock in a politically divided nation,” Gallup summarizes in its findings.

Of note: The Gallup survey was conducted Sept. 1-23, so it came before Congress narrowly and temporarily averted a government shutdown. It also came before the House’s unprecedented ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The chamber on Friday entered its ninth day without a speaker amid turmoil within the GOP caucus.

Less than half of respondents said they have confidence in the White House or the federal court system. And just over half said they trust their state government or “The American people.”

Gallup notes that trust in each category is statistically similar to a year ago, except for Congress, which saw a drop of six percentage points. All institutions rated below historical Gallup norms dating back to the early 1970s.

“Trust in the executive branch and in ‘men and women in political life’ are both at record-low points, though neither is meaningfully different from its prior low,” Gallup notes in its summary of the findings. “Trust in the American people is tied with the record low in 2021.”