WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seventeen percent of Americans in May approve of the job Congress is doing, which is similar to the 18% who approved in April.
The latest approval rating comes from a Gallup poll conducted May 1-10 as Congress weighs whether to pass $15 billion in "rescissions" of non-obligated funds as President Donald Trump has requested. The polling period also coincided with several key congressional primary elections as many members prepare to run for re-election this fall.
Background: Congress' May job approval rating is close to the average 18% rating the legislative body has received since January 2017. Approval was higher from February to July of last year, peaking at 28% in February 2017 as Republicans' approval was temporarily elevated after Trump took office.
Approval of Congress' performance sank to 13% in October and November 2017 but improved to 20% in January of this year following the passage of Trump's tax bill. Ratings of Congress have been slightly lower since then, ranging from 15% to 18% since February.
Republicans' approval of Congress is at its lowest for 2018 so far. Republicans' latest approval rating for Congress, 22%, is at its lowest for 2018 so far but remains higher than the 16% to 18% ratings recorded from August to November of last year, which were the lowest ratings the GOP gave Congress since Trump took office. Meanwhile, Democrats' and independents' ratings of Congress are slightly higher than their averages for 2018 so far.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted May 1-10, 2018, with a random sample of 1,015 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 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.
View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends.
Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.
