Americans’ approval of Congress rose slightly to 23 percent in September, the highest level in 2022, according to a new Gallup poll.
The poll found a slight uptick from the 22 percent of Americans who indicated approval of Congress in Gallup’s August survey. The 117th Congress’s lowest approval rating of the year — 16 percent — was recorded in June.
The recent improvements come after Democrats achieved a string of legislative victories over the summer, including bipartisan bills on enacting gun safety measures, boosting the domestic semiconductor industry and expanding health care for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.
Democrats also passed a sweeping tax, climate and health care deal along partisan lines, as well as a slimmed-down version of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan that ended months of negotiations over the package.
The new poll found much of the recent congressional approval gains came from Democrats.
Democrats’ rating of Congress rose 14 percentage points during the summer, clocking in at 39 percent in August and September.
Republicans’ and independents’ ratings, meanwhile, remained similar to percentages recorded in June and July.
Six percent of Republicans and 22 percent of independents approve of Congress, according to the poll.
Americans’ approval of the 117th Congress, which is controlled by Democrats in both chambers, peaked in March, 2021 at 36 percent and generally trended downward in the months following.
Facing limited authority in the current Congress, House GOP leaders last week released an agenda outlining what the conference would do if it retakes the majority in November’s midterm elections.
Republicans need a net gain of just six seats to win control of the House, an outcome election analysts say is likely.
The Senate appears more likely to remain in Democratic control, according to analysts. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has attempted to tamper expectations, saying “we’re likely to have a very, very close Senate still.”
The Gallup poll was conducted Sept. 1-16 through telephone interviews with 812 U.S. adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.