Americans Don’t Like the Congressional Leadership

As members of the 116th Congress are sworn in on Thursday, a poll shows that most Americans have an unfavorable view of the country's congressional leaders.

Taken before the partial government shutdown, the Gallup poll found that only 38 percent, an increase of nine percentage points since June, of Americans have a favorable view of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Almost half, 48 percent, of Americans have an unfavorable view of the California representative.

The same amount also have an unfavorable view of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Fewer people view the Kentucky Republican favorably, however, with only 30 percent of Americans expressing that opinion.

The Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has a slightly higher favorability rating, sitting at 32 percent. Additionally, fewer people view the New York Democrat unfavorably, with only 40 percent expressing that opinion.

The job approval rating of Congress as a whole is 18 percent.

Opinions vary among the political parties. Pelosi has the highest favorable rating within her own party, with 72 percent of Democrats holding that view. Fifty-four percent of Democrats say the same of Schumer. Among those outside her party, Pelosi has the highest unfavorable rating, with 84 percent of Republicans saying they view her in that light. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans feel the same about Schumer.

About two-thirds of Republicans view McConnell favorably, compared to just 9 percent of Democrats. About one-fifth of his party views him unfavorably and 75 percent of Democrats have an unfavorable view of him.