The percentage of Americans who say they disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job tied a record high at 86%, according to a new Gallup poll. At the same time, just 10% say they approve of the performance of lawmakers on Capitol Hill – narrowly above the all-time low of 9%.
In 1,000 phone interviews conducted April 1-15, Gallup found that Republicans drove most of the recent declines. Just 20% of Republicans approved of Congress in the latest survey. That compares to 63% in the GOP who gave positive marks to legislators in March 2025, when congressional approval stood at 31%. Democrats have hardly budged since last summer in their disdain for the current Republican-led Congress.
Gallup noted that the spike in disapproval marks the third of five such peaks since 1974 that coincided with full, partial or near government shutdowns. The current Department of Homeland Security shutdown is now in its 10th week and leaves several government agencies without funding.
On top of the shutdown’s ripple effects, Gallup points to other possible reasons for Republicans’ heightened frustration with Congress. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a major part of the GOP platform that would require citizenship documentation to register to vote, has yet to become law as it remains stalled before the Senate.
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The war in Iran is a point of tension for Americans across party lines and was likely a consideration for those surveyed. And Gallup’s polling period coincided with the resignations of two members of Congress after sexual misconduct scandals – another controversy that could further sour public opinions.
Demonstrating their ongoing dissatisfaction with the Trump administration, just 3% of Democrats said they approved of the way Congress is handling its job – nearing the party’s record low of 2% in August.
Since Gallup began tracking public opinion on the subject in 1974, Americans’ approval of Congress has been low, averaging 28% with a 65% average of disapproval. Approval ratings spiked to a record 84% in October 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Congressional approval fell during and after the longest federal government shutdown beginning in October, while disapproval climbed to 60% – high, but not as high as the record of 86%.
“Congress has weathered periods of deep public disapproval before,” the polling firm said in an analysis of the results. “Approval has at times recovered relatively quickly once conditions changed.”