Gallup: Approval of Congress falls after shutdowns

Congress’s approval rating has dropped following two government shutdowns in the span of just a few weeks, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

Just 15 percent of Americans now approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 20 percent in January following the passage of the GOP tax-reform bill.

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The most drastic change in the poll was seen among Republican voters, whose support for the GOP-controlled House and Senate now sits at just 24 percent, down from 37 percent in early January shortly after President Trump signed the tax overhaul into law.

Opinions remained relatively constant among Democrats, who give Congress a 9 percent approval rating, while support for lawmakers dropped from 20 percent to 13 percent among independents.

Overall, Congress’s approval rating is roughly half what it was a year ago, when it jumped to 28 percent following Trump’s inauguration. Still, the legislative branch’s approval is higher than its lowest point last December, when it hovered at just 13 percent.

Gallup’s poll of 1,044 adults, conducted from Feb. 1-10, has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.