[WATCH] America’s Faith in Congress Is At a Historic Low

Americans’ confidence in Congress has sunk to a new low, according to a new Gallup poll. Just seven percent of Americans say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress as an American institution, down from the previous low of 10% in 2013. This confidence is vastly different from the 42% in 1973, the first year Gallup began asking the question.

Confidence in Congress has varied over the years, with the highest levels in the low 40% range recorded in the 1970s and again in the mid-1980s. Confidence rose in the late 1990s and early 2000s but has declined since 2004, culminating in this year’s historic low. Americans’ current confidence in Congress is not only the lowest on record, but also the lowest Gallup has recorded for any institution in the 41-year trend.

The results come from a June 5th – 8th Gallup poll that updated Americans’ confidence in 17 U.S. institutions that Americans either read about or interact with in government, business, and society. It’s likely the number could drop in subsequent polls following the unpopular Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

Americans' confidence in the presidency and Supreme Court suffer the greatest drop between 2021 and 2022, per Gallup https://t.co/a6KALrsbI3 pic.twitter.com/I9HvuK1QHD

— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) July 5, 2022

This is also the first time Gallup has ever measured confidence in a major U.S. institution in the single digits. Currently, 4% of Americans say they have “a great deal” of confidence in Congress, and 3% have “quite a lot” of confidence. About one-third of Americans report having “some” confidence, while half have “very little,” and another 7% volunteer that they have “none.”

% of americans that have a lot of confidence in

the supreme court: 25% (new low)
the presidency: 23% (new low)
congress: 7% (new low)

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-gallup

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 5, 2022

Conversely, Americans have a much stronger faith in the military. Three out of four said they have either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in all arms of the U.S. military.