A poll released Monday shows powerful Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell hemorrhaging GOP support, less than a year until the 2022 midterm elections.
McConnell came in dead last in Gallup’s new survey ranking 11 federal officials by their job approval ratings. His 34 percent public approval is lower than that of President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
But while the three top Democrats in government found majority support among their own party’s voters, the Kentucky Republican is trailing in the GOP sphere.
Just 46 percent of McConnell’s fellow Republicans approve of his job in the Senate, while a decisive 52-point majority disapprove.
The overwhelming dissatisfaction in the Senate’s longest-serving GOP leader could leave him in a vulnerable position — especially with Donald Trump and his supporters hammering away at McConnell’s credibility for months.
In contrast to McConnell’s numbers, his House counterpart, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, polls the highest among any Congressional leader of either party listed in the survey.
McCarthy’s staunch support for Trump coupled with his positive rating among his own party is a strong indicator that the former president is still very much a kingmaker among the GOP.
Nearly three-quarters of Republican voters polled – 71 percent – approve of McCarthy’s job in office.
The California Republican also scored a whopping 12 points higher than McConnell in his overall approval rating with 46 percent.
McConnell has been a favorite punching bag of Trump’s, who most recently called him a ‘broken old crow’ for voting in favor of Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal and then allowing Democrats to raise the US debt limit.
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In an interview with Fox less than 10 days ago, Trump declared: ‘Mitch McConnell’s a disaster. The Republicans have to get a new leader.’
And in September, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Trump was making calls to allies in the Senate and other supporters to gauge if they too felt it was time for a leadership change.
To date no Republican senator has gone on the record to oppose McConnell. Even Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who Trump helped win his seat, has said McConnell is doing a ‘good job.’
However two Senate GOP hopefuls — Kelly Tshibaka, who is challenging Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Eric Greitens, the former governor of Missouri who is running for the seat being vacated by Senator Roy Blunt in the state — are looking to change that with Trump’s blessing.
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Biden’s job approval rating is now lower than that of several of his top deputies including Vice President Kamala Harris and Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to the same poll released on Monday
He’s ranked toward the bottom of a list of federal officials that also includes GOP Congressional leaders like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
With a dismal 43 percent approval rating, Biden is the ninth-highest ranked out of 11 federal leaders, respondents to the Gallup poll taken December 1 to December decided.
However, his disapproval rating of 51 percent is still lower than Harris’ 54-point negative job rating.
Below the president are only Pelosi with 40 percent approval, and McConnell at 34 percent.
Topping the list, however, is Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Six out of 10 Americans approve of the job he’s doing leading the high court.
This year Roberts is overseeing one of the most politically-charged Supreme Court terms in history with cases on gun rights and abortion… (Read more)
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