Congressional Performance

Voters are now slightly more satisfied with the job Congress is doing than they were two months ago.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 34% of Likely U.S. Voters rate Congress’ performance as good or excellent, up one point from 33% in May. Thirty-nine percent (39%) now think Congress is doing a poor job, down from 41% in May. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

The slight uptick in congressional favorability follows passage earlier this month of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which 49% of voters approve. Congressional performance is now rated good or excellent by 55% of Republicans, 23% of Democrats and 25% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

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The survey of 1,151 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on July 21-23, 2025 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Looking ahead to the 2026 midterms, 90% of Likely Voters say they are motivated to vote in the next congressional elections, including 71% who are Very Motivated.

There isn’t much of an “enthusiasm” gap between the parties, with 74% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats describing themselves as Very Motivated to vote in the next congressional elections. Sixty-six percent (66%) of unaffiliated voters say they’re Very Motivated for the 2026 midterms.

Forty-one percent (41%) of all Likely Voters say that, regardless of how Congress is doing overall, their local representative in Congress deserves to be reelected. Thirty-eight percent (38%) don’t think their local House member deserves reelection and 21% are not sure.

Republicans are more satisfied with their own House members than are other voters. Forty-nine percent (49%) of GOP voters say their local representative in Congress deserves to be reelected, compared to 40% of Democrats and 34% of unaffiliated voters who say the same.

Significantly more men (46%) than women voters (37%) believe their local representative in Congress deserves to be reelected, and men are also somewhat more likely than women to think Congress is doing a good or excellent job.

Thirty-two percent (32%) of whites, 35% of black voters, 44% of Hispanics and 34% of other minorities give Congress a good or excellent performance rating. Black voters are least likely to say they’re Very Motivated to vote in the next congressional elections.

Voters in their 30s are more likely to believe Congress is doing a good or excellent job, while a majority (52%) of those 65 and older give Congress a poor rating. Older voters are significantly more likely to say they’re Very Motivated to vote in the next congressional elections.

Among those who voted for Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election, 58% view Congress as doing a good or excellent job, while 69% of Kamala Harris voters give Congress a poor rating.

Most voters think the accusations surrounding “RussiaGate” are a serious scandal, but few expect criminal prosecution of the Obama administration officials involved.

Voters overwhelmingly favor cracking down on illegal campaign contributions from foreigners.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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