Most Americans have no confidence that Democrats and Republicans will be able to work together in Congress in a bipartisan way, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll found.
The 118th Congress will be divided, as Republicans are retaking a majority in the House and Democrats are maintaining the majority in the Senate.
However, Americans have their doubts that Democrats and Republicans will be able to work together in a “bipartisan way” in the final two years of President Biden’s term.
Over half, 58 percent, said they have “no confidence” that Republicans and Democrats will be able to work together “in a bipartisan way,” and one-third have “some confidence.” Just nine percent have “a lot” of confidence that they will be able to work together.
Per the survey:
The proportion of Americans with this view has more than doubled since 2008. According to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News survey released that year, only 23% of U.S. residents reported low confidence in achieving bipartisan agreement in Congress.
74% of Americans, up from 64% in February, say it is more important for government officials in Washington to compromise to find solutions than to stand on principle (24%). The 74% of Americans who prioritize compromise over principle matches the highest proportion of Americans with this view in a decade.
When asked what the 118th Congress should prioritize in the upcoming session, 31 percent said inflation, followed by immigration (11 percent), crime (nine percent), climate change (nine percent), and health care (nine percent).
Republicans and Democrats have differing priorities, however, as a plurality of Republicans said Congress should focus on inflation, followed by immigration. “Preserving democracy” tops the list for Democrats.
The survey was taken December 6-8, 2022, among 1,312 adults. It has a +/- 3.5 percent margin of error.
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has long touted the upcoming priories of a GOP-led House, which will include holding Dr. Anthony Fauci accountable as well as the Biden administration as a whole.
“You deserve to know the origins of COVID. You deserve to know why the DOJ went after concerned parents. You deserve to know why we failed to keep American lives safe in Afghanistan. On day one a Republican majority will begin holding this administration accountable,” McCarthy said in a viral social media post earlier this month:
The survey came prior to congressional appropriators releasing the text of the $1.7 trillion, 4,155-page omnibus spending bill in the early hours of the morning, setting up a war between Senate Republicans who may waffle and House Republicans threatening to thwart their efforts in the next session if they cave to the monstrous spending bill.
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has overtly backed those efforts, warning on Tuesday, “When I’m Speaker, their bills will be dead on arrival in the House if this nearly $2T monstrosity is allowed to move forward over our objections and the will of the American people”:
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