According to a CBS News survey, Sixty percent of U.S. citizens agree with the House’s decision to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker. After cutting a deal to avoid a government shutdown last month, which angered many on the right side of his party, McCarthy lost the favor of a majority of Americans, according to the survey, and 75% of those people agreed with the idea that McCarthy wasn’t practical.
Notably, 54% of self-identified conservative Americans approved the removal of McCarthy, while 70% of liberal Americans approved of the same action.
On Tuesday, Democrats voted alongside Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida and his few conservative friends to remove McCarthy as speaker. The House is in disarray due to this, and another government shutdown is a real possibility in the coming weeks. The GOP in the House will meet next week to discuss their next steps. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has declared his candidacy for speaker, while former President Donald Trump has backed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who has also announced his candidacy.
In addition to the nine months of polling conducted during McCarthy’s tenure, the most recent Economist/YouGov poll, whose polling ended shortly before McCarthy was ousted, provides further insight into this massive event in Congress. Throughout his time as speaker, McCarthy enjoyed the support of more than half of the Republican caucus.
However, his popularity waned at the end of his term. 56% of Republicans have a positive or strong impression of his performance in office, and 49% have a positive or strong opinion of him, according to the most recent poll. Most Americans, Democrats, and Republicans, have become less supportive of McCarthy since the beginning of his speakership, with support peaking in April and May.
Only 42% of Republicans had a favorable opinion of McCarthy’s handling of the current threat of a government shutdown. Only 30% of Americans agreed with his response. Most Republicans (59%) supported McCarthy’s election as speaker when he narrowly won the position in January. But they had a more favorable impression of the
It has been increasingly more common for Americans to have a favorable impression of Democrats in Congress than Republicans. The divide between how people feel about Democrats and Republicans in Congress has widened since the beginning of the year, with 41% having a very or somewhat favorable view of congressional Democrats and 33% feeling the same way about congressional Republicans.
