Analysis: Congressional disapproval hits record as midterm focus looms providing opportunity for Trump

A new poll shows congressional approval ratings have dropped to 10%, just above an all-time low.

The results could help President Donald Trump contrast himself favorably with Congress as he prepares for the midterm campaigns.

Gallup’s April survey found disapproval of Congress tied its record high at 86%, with the institution mired in a partial government shutdown now entering its 10th week as the top issue.

This comes after a protracted Democrat-led shutdown in the fall.

“Disapproval also hit the high point in December 2011 and February 2012 amid prolonged disputes over federal spending and the budget,” the survey said. “The longest federal government shutdown, which occurred last fall, resulted in a high congressional disapproval rating, but it did not quite reach the record high.”

Democrats have blocked passage of a spending bill funding the department responsible for border security, leaving it in a partial shutdown for more than two months.

Compounding the frustration, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act – which passed the House in 2025 and would require ID confirming citizenship to vote – remains stalled in the Senate.

The bill has broad support among voters and represents one of the cleaner legislative victories within reach, but Senate Democrats have blocked its advance.

A Pew Research Center poll from last year shows 83% of Americans favor showing ID to vote, while 87% support requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.

For the Republican base, which swept the party back into power expecting action on election integrity, the delay registers as a failure by Congress.

“Republicans have driven most of the recent decline, with a sharp drop in their latest approval rating of Congress after surging to 63% in March 2025,” Gallup said in its recent survey.

Republican disapproval reflects genuine frustration with a thin majority that has struggled to move legislation, not necessarily a verdict on Republican governance itself.

The poll showed 11% of independents and 2% of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing.

The Democrat number reflects partisan opposition rather than a broader judgment about governance, based on analysis of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Also contributing to public dissatisfaction: multiple ethics scandals forced three members to resign as Gallup’s polling window closed April 15.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, both resigned from Congress amid sexual misconduct scandals.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Florida, resigned after she was indicted for stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds.

With narrow margins, a handful of holdouts on any bill have stalled the Trump agenda.

As a result, voters see gridlock.

But Democrat obstruction in the Senate, slim House margins and three scandal-plagued vacant seats open the door to a president who can make the case he is working hard to solve problems but is met with obstruction.

The poor polling numbers give Trump a ready-made campaign frame heading into 2026.

The president could portray himself as a busy, action-oriented executive versus a Congress that cannot deliver.

Trump’s own approval ratings have tracked separately and remain above Congress throughout the period.

That gap is the opening.

The Harry Truman precedent is instructive.

Running in 1948 against a Republican Congress many analysts had written off as ungovernable, President Harry Truman turned institutional dysfunction into a campaign asset, running against Congress rather than his opponent.

Trump enters 2026 with a stronger factual case.

The president is opposing a narrow Democrat minority that actively created two government shutdowns and blocked voter integrity legislation popular with voters.

He has a record of executive action on the border, trade and foreign policy, combined with a natural talent for the kind of direct campaign argument Truman pioneered.

Gallup’s trend shows congressional approval has averaged 28% since 1974.

It has not cracked 30% for most of the past five years.

“Public sentiment toward Congress is as negative as it has been in Gallup’s trend,” noted the survey.