Story Highlights
Congress
approval falls to 14% from 17%
Speaker
John Boehner records his lowest favorable rating
Republican
congressional leaders not popular with GOP base.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Now on August
recess, members of Congress returning to their districts may receive a
skeptical reception from constituents, as 14% of U.S. adults approve of the job
Congress is doing, down slightly from 17% in July.
These results come from a Gallup
poll conducted Aug. 5-9. Congressional leaders can point to a slightly more
productive session than was true for the previous two Congresses, such as
passing "fast-track authority" -- which grants the president enhanced
authority to negotiate free-trade agreements -- as well as the USA Freedom Act,
which significantly revised some provisions of the Patriot Act.
These activities notwithstanding,
Congress hasn't gained in popularity among Americans. Moreover, the leaders of
the two Republican-controlled chambers, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are suffering a similar public image problem.
A majority of Americans (54%) have
an unfavorable opinion of Boehner, who is in his third term as speaker.
Meanwhile, 23% view Boehner favorably, down slightly from 27% in March of this
year and his lowest favorable rating as House speaker. Americans have been more
likely to view Boehner negatively than positively since 2013.
McConnell is a less well-known
figure than Boehner, with nearly four in 10 Americans (37%) saying they have
not heard of the senator or registering no opinion of him. McConnell saw his
influence on Capitol Hill expand in immeasurable ways after the 2014 midterm
elections gave his caucus 54 seats, making him the Senate majority leader. But
this promotion has done little to elevate his brand with the American public --
nearly twice as many see him unfavorably (41%) as favorably (22%), comparable
to ratings of the past several years.
Congressional leaders are rarely
popular with the public. Boehner's favorable rating today is close to where
then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stood in October 2010. Back then, 29% viewed her favorably
and 56% unfavorably, prior to the widespread Democratic losses in that year's
elections. Like Boehner at the beginning of his speakership, Pelosi enjoyed a
brief bout of popularity but saw her ratings fall over time.
McConnell's first public rating as
majority leader is remarkably similar to that of his chief legislative
adversary, Harry Reid, in October 2014, just prior to Reid's losing his job as
majority leader. In that poll, 21% had a favorable opinion of Reid, while 45%
saw him unfavorably and 34% had no opinion. Both Reid and McConnell have been largely more
disliked than liked over their careers as leaders of their respective parties,
though a sizable segment of the population does not know them.
Boehner,
McConnell Struggle With Republican Support
Although Boehner and McConnell lead
the two chambers that often stand in opposition to President Barack Obama, the
GOP faithful are hardly enthralled with them. Slightly more Republicans see
Boehner unfavorably (42%) than favorably (37%), while 20% have no opinion or
don't know him. Independents and Democrats tilt more strongly in the same
direction, with majorities holding an unfavorable opinion of the House speaker.
McConnell breaks even among
Republicans, with 34% seeing him favorably and 32% unfavorably. But still
another third of Republicans don't know McConnell or haven't heard of him
(34%). Anonymity is hardly McConnell's problem among Democrats, as half of
self-identified Democrats say they have an unfavorable opinion of McConnell,
while 16% see him favorably. McConnell's image with independents also skews
negative.
Bottom Line
Even with the August break at hand,
Congress is hardly in a position to be satisfied with its accomplishments this
year. The legislative branch remains about as unpopular as it was for much of
the late Bush
presidency and has been throughout Obama's
tenure, despite several changes in party
control and, correspondingly, in leadership.
Indeed, the main congressional
leaders -- House Speaker Boehner and Senator Majority Leader McConnell -- are
not only unpopular figures with the public at large, they are also not
particularly well-received even among Republicans. For both men, at least on a
national scale, the mantle of power has not come with popularity.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are
based on telephone interviews conducted Aug. 5-9, 2015, with a random sample of
1,011 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District
of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the
margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for
weighting.
Each sample of national adults
includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline
respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region.
Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial
methods.
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