A large majority of Americans, 67%, want the US House of Representatives to elect a new speaker for the lower congressional chamber as soon as possible, including most Republicans, according to a new poll.
The poll, which questioned 1,000 registered voters by landline telephone, found that only 25% of Americans do not care if a new speaker is elected. While support was much larger among Democrats than Republicans, 86% to 57%, the poll shows even voters for the party that once employed the “starve the beast” strategy, do not want to see the House without a leader.
Their preference for a speaker being picked quickly does not reflect any warm feelings for Congress or our leaders by voters. Only 36% of voters said they have “a lot” (4%) or “some” (32%) confidence in US leadership, compared to 62% who said they have “very little” (35%) or “none at all” (27%).
The House of Representatives has been in a frozen state since Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted three and a half weeks ago. Republicans, who control the House with a small margin, have been trying to appoint a new speaker but have been unable to unify behind a candidate.
With that news fresh in voters' minds, it remains unsurprising the House is the least popular of the two chambers of Congress. Only 25% of voters view the lower chamber favorably, while 54% hold an unfavorable view. The US Senate fared slightly better, with 36% of voters seeing it favorably, while 42% saw it unfavorably.
So What’s the Catch?
Once the US House does what the majority of voters want and elects a new speaker, Congress will have to get to work avoiding a government shutdown on November 18, an outcome that was narrowly avoided on October 1.
While a majority of voters, 61%, agree a deal should be negotiated, a majority of Republican voters, 55%, said they do want their representatives to stand firm on spending cuts, even if it means a government shutdown.
With Republicans controlling the House and presumably, the speaker’s gavel, Congress may soon find itself in the same position it was in at the end of September: desperately scrambling to keep the government funded.