In March, Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government and avert a shutdown. Now, Republicans are trying to approve a budget bill pushed by Trump that would significantly reduce Medicaid and nutrition spending and extend income tax cuts. It passed the U.S. House by a single vote. In the U.S. Senate, it faces pushback not only from Democrats but some Republicans who have voiced opposition to Medicaid cuts.
While congressional Republicans have a 88% approval rating among members of their own party and respondents who lean Republican, Democrats aren鈥檛 as happy with their elected leaders. The poll finds 56% of Democratic respondents approve of congressional Democrats.
Northfield resident Ryan Dawkins, 40, a poll respondent who is an associate professor of political science at Carleton College, said he understood Democrats鈥 power is limited since they don鈥檛 have a majority in Congress, but they don鈥檛 have a coherent message.
鈥淭hey think they鈥檙e playing a game for which there鈥檚 rules,鈥 Dawkins said, 鈥渁nd the Republicans are just like, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not even playing the same game as you鈥 and it seems like the Democrats don鈥檛 even care, or they don鈥檛 even realize it.鈥
As the minority party, he said, they need to be throwing 鈥渁 lot more sand into the gears of governance鈥 to make a serious stand against Trump and Republicans. He wasn鈥檛 sure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries 鈥 both Democrats from New York 鈥 were up to the job of leading the party in Congress.
While the poll showed members of Congress are unpopular in Minnesota, Kathryn Pearson, an associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, said the 39% and 33% favorability ratings were actually fairly high. Pearson said Congress can often face favorability ratings as low as the teens, but she said Congress鈥 popularity could decline even more over U.S. involvement in Iran and conflict over the budget bill. The poll was taken before the Trump administration launched attacks on Iran.