Forty-five percent (45%) of U.S. voters now have an unfavorable opinion of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano following her department’s release of a controversial report on right-wing extremist groups last week. Twenty-three percent (23%) say their view of her is Very Unfavorable.

Thirty percent (30%) have a favorable view of the former Arizona governor, with eight percent (8%) Very Favorable, in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

However, one-out-of-four voters (25%) do not know enough about Napolitano to have an opinion about her one way or the other.

At the time President Obama nominated her for the Homeland Security post in early December, 43% had no opinion of her. Since that time, her favorable ratings have remained constant, but her negatives have increased. That’s fairly typical for politicians as they get better known.

Fifty-nine percent of Arizona voters said the president made the right decision when he chose Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security. In late September of last year, 48% of Arizona voters rated Napolitano’s job performance as good or excellent.

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Sixty-five percent (65%) of Republicans now regard Napolitano unfavorably, as do 50% of those not affiliated with either major party. A plurality of Democrats (46%) has a favorable opinion of the new Homeland Security secretary.

House Republicans are calling for Napolitano to step down or be fired over the report which said returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan posed a potential domestic terrorism danger, along with pro-life activists and those who question the federal government. Napolitano has since apologized for some of the wording in the report but has stood by its overall conclusions.

Napolitano’s fellow Cabinet member, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, continues to draw positive marks for her performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) have a favorable view of Clinton, with 33% Very favorable, while 42% rate her unfavorably, including 29% whose view is Very Unfavorable.

These findings are roughly comparable to those in mid-February as Clinton went on her first official overseas trip as secretary of State.

Women voters have a more favorable view of Clinton than men. She remains a highly divisive figure from a partisan standpoint: 89% of Democrats view her favorably while 82% of GOP voters regard her unfavorably. Among unaffiliated voters, her favorables are 53% and her unfavorables are 44%.

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