Americans are increasingly expressing concern about the shutdown’s impact on the U.S. economy, with a large majority believing Congress is not even trying to end it.
There is also growing concern among people that they will be personally affected, especially those on lower incomes, as well as concerns about the national impact.
Politically, this means that no one “wins” at all: Congressional Democrats, Republicans and President Trump are increasingly critical of their handling of the issue.
Democrats express greater concern about economic impact than the republicans do.
Other government functions including air travelalso raises concerns about shutdowns.
Most do not approve of how all the players involved are handling it, and those opinions have turned somewhat negative during October, a month when shutdown started
Looking at the ordinal data for each party, Republicans and Democrats in Congress receive the approval of a majority of their respective partisans. But the Republican base is even more solidly supportive of its delegation than Democrats.
Some of it has to do with attention: Democrats who disapprove of or aren’t sure about their party are less likely to follow shutdown news. Another may be financial: Rank-and-file Democrats tend to express more concern about the effects of a shutdown on the economy and themselves, and Democrats who favor it are also slightly more likely to describe their financial situation as good, which may lead them to believe they are better able to weather any impact.
But in general, Congress is not perceived as even trying to end it.
Uncertainty in the economy continues
Americans are particularly sensitive as the economy continues to create uncertainty.
Its ratings have been poor for years – nothing has changed there – and expectations for the coming year remain mixed at best. Support for tariffs remains negative as it was; views on the job market are also negative – and amid recent news about AI investment and the market, there is continued concern that AI will take jobs.
But perhaps most of all, prices are still seen as rising, a reminder among many other measures that Americans tend to perceive prices more immediately than the rate of change in inflation.
Few expect prices to drop in the next few months.
Those who expect continued higher prices and are pessimistic about the economy are particularly concerned about the economic effects of the shutdown.
Politics, parties and the week ahead
A year after his election victory, most Americans see Trump as trying to fulfill his campaign promises, though many say it’s a different approach than they expected — and not everyone agrees.
And as we’re reminded again this week, with more and more state elections coming up, politics is about choices, not just evaluations.
On the political front, Trump and the Republican approach to economic and immigration policy are more favorable than the Democratic approach today. (Seems like you don’t like the big number or you’re not sure.)
For context, ahead of this week’s race and a midterm election year approaching, the political question is always how much of a Donald Trump factor will be in other contests and whether Democrats also need to move that needle on a perceived approach to politics in order to be competitive.
One thing that’s getting attention this week is the New York mayoral race (which most of the country claims to be following, if not very closely). We asked Democrats across the country what they thought their party’s economic policy should be on socialism and capitalism — and most Democrats would say their party has to mix both, but no more exclusively one.
And another topic this week will be redistricting, when Californians vote on a redistricting measure, oh debate redraw the lines in several states.
The American public doesn’t like it that much. Most of them believe that the lines should be left alone until 2030. or delineate more competitive rather than better districts.
Only a quarter of the public (mostly only the strongest partisans) want more constituencies that could be won by one party.
Specific questions
Meanwhile, all that economic uncertainty and a mixed outlook continue to weigh on Trump’s ratings on inflation and the economy as a whole. That, along with the shutdown, continues to weigh on his overall approval rating, and all of those terms have fallen to record lows over time. Inflation, in particular, gives him a two-thirds disapproval rating.
Mr Trump gets relatively better, if not positive, marks on immigration. That has been the case for a while, in part because his GOP is so firmly behind him on issues including his deportation program, and in part because Americans in general say border crossings have decreased under his administration.
The peace agreement reached between Israel and Hamas gave Mr. Trump approval to resolve the conflict. He gets relatively higher approval among independents (and to some extent Democrats) for his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict than he does overall.
He gets more favorable ratings than overall, and the economy, inflation and immigration, specifically.
Overall, Trump’s approval rating has dropped just one point since early October and remains in the 40s, where it has typically been since mid-summer.
This CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,124 US adults surveyed since 2025. October 29 until the 31st The sample was estimated to be representative of adults nationwide by sex, age, race, and education, based on the US Census and the American Community Survey and current presidential voting20. The margin of error is ±2.6 points.
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