Trump’s approval edges up despite Americans blaming Republicans for shutdown

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By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Americans blame Republican lawmakers more than Democratic lawmakers for a partial government shutdown, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that also showed Republican President Donald Trump’s approval rating increasing slightly.

The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, showed Trump’s approval at 42%, up 2 percentage points from earlier in the month, within the poll’s 2 point margin of error. Trump’s rating has held between 40% and 44% since early April.

The poll found that 50% of respondents see the Republican congressional leadership as deserving the most blame for the shutdown, while 43% see top congressional Democrats as the main culprits. The third-longest government shutdown in U.S. history entered its 21st day on Tuesday.

The shutdown started on October 1 and has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers on furlough, hitting a sliver of the workforce in what economists see as a tiny drag on economic growth, though many Americans are feeling the shutdown via a wave of air traffic delays. About one in five poll respondents said they have been financially impacted by the shutdown, while two in five said they know someone who is feeling the pinch.

Republicans have majorities in both chambers in the U.S. Congress but need votes from Senate Democrats to pass legislation to reopen the government. Democrats say they won’t back legislation until Republicans agree to extend expiring health insurance subsidies, which the poll suggests are broadly popular.

Some 72% of respondents — including almost all Democrats and half of Republicans — said the discounts should be kept in place, compared to 22% who said they should be ended, the poll found. Among those favoring the subsidies, 60% said they were important enough to keep the government closed until a deal is reached to keep them in place, while 37% said lawmakers should find a way to keep the subsidies after the government reopens.

About nine in 10 Republicans continue to give Trump a thumbs up for his performance as president, while only about one in 20 Democrats in the latest poll said he was doing a good job. Trump’s rating has come down 5 percentage points from 47% shortly after he returned to the White House in January.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online and nationwide, surveyed 4,385 U.S. adults.  

(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)