Americans trust local government over Congress: Gallup
- Most Americans have a 'great deal' or 'fair amount' of trust in local gov.
- Just 32% felt the same way about Congress
- Trust in the executive branch is at an all-time low
FILE – The Capitol in Washington, is seen at sunrise, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. On one side of the U.S. Capitol, two senators have steered the debate over government funding mostly clear of partisan fights, clearing a path for bills to pass with bipartisan momentum. Steps away, on the House side of the building, things couldn’t be more different. House Republicans, trying to win support from the far-right wing of the party, have loaded up their government funding packages with funding cuts and conservative policy priorities. Democrats have responded with ire, branding their GOP counterparts as extreme and bigoted and withdrawing support for the legislation.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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(NewsNation) — Most Americans have lost faith in Congress, but the vast majority still trust their local governments, according to a new survey.
More than two-thirds of Americans (67%) say they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in local government. Just 32% felt the same way about Congress.
The new findings come from Gallup’s annual governance poll, conducted last month before federal lawmakers temporarily averted a government shutdown.
Trust in each government institution is statistically similar to last year except Congress, Gallup noted. Faith in the legislative branch dropped from 38% expressing a great deal or fair amount of trust last year to 32% now.
“Most Americans still retain trust in local and state governments, and at similar levels to what Gallup has measured historically,” Gallup notes. “They may see these levels of government as more responsive to their concerns and more capable, as the federal government continues to suffer from gridlock in a politically divided nation.”
Democrats are more trusting of most government institutions than Republicans and independents, although those differences are partially a result of how power is currently divided.
Most Democrats (83%) have “a great deal or fair amount” of trust in the executive branch, compared to just 9% of Republicans who said the same.
However, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to trust the judicial branch, 63% to 34%.
Overall, just 41% of those surveyed have trust in the executive branch — an all-time low.