Poll finds little support for another shutdown or national emergency

The public is showing few signs of enthusiasm for another partial government shutdown just days after the last one — which stretched for a record-long 35 days — came to an end, according to a poll.

About 58 percent of respondents in the Politico/Morning Consult survey released early Wednesday oppose another shutdown, while 31 percent say they would support one to pressure Congress to appropriate funding for a border wall.

A majority of respondents — 54 percent — said they would blame President Trump and congressional Republicans if the government were to close again, while only 33 percent would blame congressional Democrats.

{mosads}Emphasizing the public’s desire to keep the government open, an overwhelming 72 percent of those surveyed said they support last Friday’s deal to temporarily fund the government while a bipartisan conference committee negotiates further border security measures. Only 15 percent oppose the agreement.

While Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency if the committee does not appropriate the funds for a border wall, that option is also unpopular, pollsters found. About 51 percent of respondents say they would oppose such a move, while 38 percent would support declaring a national emergency and enlisting the military to build the wall.

Fifty-three percent of those polled say Trump should not shut down the government or declare a national emergency, while 9 percent support another shutdown and 24 percent want Trump to declare a national emergency. 

Another survey question showed that public opinion regarding immigration from Central America has not greatly moved despite the administration’s efforts to follow up on building the wall, which was one of Trump’s key campaign promises.

Fewer than 40 percent of respondents say the U.S. faces a “crisis” of illegal immigration and another 37 percent say the U.S. faces a “problem” but not a “crisis.” Those numbers remained steady over the past three weeks. About 45 percent of those polled support building a wall, while 47 percent oppose it. 

Trump’s overall approval rating in the poll sits at 40 percent, though his support among Republicans appears to remain firm. 

“Despite being unhappy with how the shutdown ended, the GOP base remains resolute in its support for President Trump,” Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president, said. “Trump’s standing among Republicans has remained strong, with 81 percent approving and 16 percent disapproving of him, unchanged from last week.” 

The poll surveyed 1,997 registered voters from Jan. 25-27 and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.