2018 US Politics - 20% of Americans Approve the Job Congress is Doing (April 18)

The number of Americans (39%) who approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as President has remained fairly consistent over the last several weeks. Registered voters are slightly more likely to approve of his job performance (41%) than all Americans. When it comes to specific policy issues, Donald Trump receives the highest approval ratings on employment and jobs, where half of Americans (49%) approve of his performance. Americans are least likely approve of his handling of Russia (37%). 

If the elections for Congress were held today, registered voters report they are more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate (44%) than a Republican candidate (34%). Independent voters report they are split between Democrats (17%), Republicans (19%), and a candidate from another party (14%). 

One-fifth of Americans (20%) approve of the job Congress is doing as a whole, while 39% approve of the job their individual Congressperson is doing. Approval ratings of individual representatives remains highest among Republicans, where over half (54%) approve of the job their Congressperson is doing. Comparatively, 40% of Democrats and just a quarter (26%) of Independents approve of the job their Congressperson is doing. 

In this week’s Reuters/Ipsos Wh’Exit Poll, Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the EPA, tops the list, with 20% of Americans reporting that they think he will be the next in the administration to resign or be terminated. He is followed closely by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (18%). Chief of Staff John F. Kelly rounds out the top three, with 15% of Americans reporting they believe he will be the next person to exit the White House.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters April 13 -17, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 1,509 Americans, including 559 Democrats,  459 Republicans, 162 Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.