Approval of US Congress remains near historic lows: Poll

August 21, 2016 WORLD No Comments

Americans' approval of the US Congress remains near historic lows amid widespread dissatisfaction with other branches of the US government, according to a new poll.
Only 18 percent of adults approve of the legislative branch of the government, slightly higher than the 13 percent recorded in July, a monthly Gallup poll taken August 3-7 shows.
Approval of Congress has been below 20 percent in most of Gallup's monthly surveys since 2010. In addition to being the least trusted branch of government, the legislative branch's approval rating has not seen any lasting improvements in recent years.
“This more negative attitude toward Congress mirrors other indicators showing that Americans are at or near record lows in their confidence in the executive and judicial branches, and the federal government in general,” Gallup said.
“Americans' approval of Congress has largely paralleled their satisfaction with the way things are going in the US at large,” it added.
Meanwhile, a separate Gallup poll taken last week found that only 27 percent of Americans were satisfied with the state of affairs in their country, similar to the level from February through June.
Dissatisfaction with the US economy and government was at the top of the list, according to the survey.
Seventeen percent believe the economy in general is the most important problem facing the country, while 13 percent name the government dysfunction as the main problem.
Dissatisfaction with terrorism is at 9 percent, ranking third among the most important problems, followed by unemployment and immigration at 8 percent