2018 US Politics - Gary Cohn, Director of the White House Economic Council, Surprised by Resigning this Week (March 7)

President Trump’s approval has remained steady over the last several weeks, with 40% of Americans approving of his job overall. Not surprisingly, Republicans are much more likely to approve of the job the President is doing (79%), than Democrats (13%) and Independents (36%). Republicans are more likely to say the country is headed in the right direction (62%) than Democrats (11%) and Independents (25%).

For the Ipsos Wh’Exit poll, Gary Cohn, Director of the White House Economic Council, took many Americans by surprise by resigning this week, with only 5% reporting they believed him to be the next person to resign or be terminated at the White House. Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the president, tops the list at 19%, followed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (17%).

Healthcare (17%) continues to top the list of most important problems facing the country among all Americans. Democrats also place healthcare at the top of their list, with 22% reporting that they believe it is the most important problem. The economy is a distant second with 12% of Democrats reporting that it is the most important issue. Republicans are more likely to believe several issues are important, with terrorism (16%) topping the list and immigration tied with morality for a close second at 15% each. Healthcare is another close contender in third place at 14%.

Democrats continue to lead in the 2018 generic congressional ballot by 7 points. Thirty-eight percent of Americans would pick the Democratic candidate if the elections for U.S. congress were held today, while 31% would pick the Republican candidate.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters March 2 -6, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 2,927 Americans, including 1,196 Democrats,  1,121 Republicans, 348 Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.