How much will this Congress accomplish? Here’s what Americans said in a new poll

Americans don’t have particularly high expectations for Congress under President-elect Donald Trump, according to new polling.

In the latest YouGov poll, about one-third of respondents, 32%, said they believe Congress will accomplish more in the next two years than it did last term.

Meanwhile, 20% said it will accomplish less over the next two years than it did last term, and 17% said it will achieve about the same amount. An additional 31% said they were not sure.

Predictably, the results were divided based on partisan affiliation, with 64% of Republicans saying Congress will accomplish more in the next two years, while just 10% of Democrats and 23% of independents said the same.

The poll comes as the 119th Congress is set to be sworn in, giving Republicans control over both the House and the Senate for the next two years. During the previous Congress, Democrats held a slim majority in the Senate, while the GOP narrowly controlled the House.

It also comes amid a decline in Congress’s productivity — with fewer bills being passed in recent years than in past decades, according to Reuters.

Conducted between Dec. 29 and 31, the poll sampled 1,552 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

Other poll findings

The poll also found that about half of respondents, 49%, approve of the way Trump has handled the presidential transition so far, while 35% disapprove.

In contrast, 41% approve of the way President Joe Biden has handled the presidential transition thus far, while 39% disapprove.

Further, 35% said they are enthusiastic about the next four years with Trump as president, while 28% said they are upset. An additional 16% said they were “satisfied but not enthusiastic,” and 14% said they were “dissatisfied but not upset.”

Two-thirds of respondents said Democratic lawmakers should work with Trump on policies they agree with, while 15% said they should resist all of his policies.

Additionally, a plurality of respondents, 44%, said they would support a constitutional amendment that would make the winner of the national popular vote the president.

Meanwhile, 36% said they would prefer keeping the Electoral College system, and 20% said they weren’t sure.

This story was originally published January 3, 2025 at 8:56 AM with the headline "How much will this Congress accomplish? Here’s what Americans said in a new poll."