Topline
Most Americans, including Republicans, want the courts and GOP lawmakers to push back on President Donald Trump when warranted, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, with Americans largely not wanting the president to seek even more power over the government—though most GOP voters still back his policy moves.
President Donald Trump displays a signed an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on … More
Key Facts
Only 32% of Republicans want Trump to have more power than he already does, while 13% think his power should be more limited and 55% think he has the “right amount” of power, according to the CBS poll, which was conducted March 27 and 28.
A 63% majority of Republicans believe GOP lawmakers should push back on Trump’s policies when they disagree, while only 37% want congressional Republicans to go along with whatever Trump wants, according to the CBS poll—as compared with 79% of respondents overall who want Congress to push back.
A smaller majority of Republicans also back judges’ power to review Trump’s policies, with 56% backing judicial review of the president’s agenda, while 44% believe the judiciary should not have oversight over Trump’s policies.
The Trump administration has decried rulings by federal judges that have blocked the president’s policies, claiming in public statements and court filings they believe lower court judges should not be allowed to hamstring the president’s authority.
Republicans broadly don’t want billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to get more power over federal personnel decisions, with only 16% saying DOGE doesn’t have enough say over whether federal employees should be laid off, versus 23% who say DOGE has too much power and 61% who say its level of power is just enough.
While most don’t want Trump to have unchecked power, Republicans are broadly supportive of the policies he’s implementing, with 88% approving of his handling of the economy, 92% supporting his immigration agenda, 89% backing his handling of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and 64% approving of his administration’s push to acquire Greenland.
Big Number
91%. That’s the share of Republicans who approve of Trump’s job as president, as compared with 50% voters overall. Democrats overwhelmingly disapproved of Trump by 88%, while Independents are more narrowly opposed to him, with 43% approving of his job as president while 57% disapproved. That being said, only 22% of Republicans believe “things today in America” are “going very well,” while 54% say they’re only going “somewhat well”—though that’s still higher than the 42% of respondents overall who feel things in the country are going very or somewhat well.
How Do Republicans Feel About Signalgate?
The CBS News poll asked Republicans about how they feel about Trump’s top officials using Signal to discuss military plans. Jeffrey Goldberg, CEO of The Atlantic, reported this week on a group chat he was mistakenly added to, in which Trump’s Cabinet members were discussing detailed military operations over the encrypted messaging app. A 60% majority of Republicans said the Trump administration discussing operations on Signal with a journalist present is a “serious” matter, and a 56% majority think it’s not appropriate to use Signal to discuss military plans. That’s lower than the 76% of respondents overall who believe the use of Signal is inappropriate, and is in line with a YouGov poll earlier this week that found a 56% majority believe the Signal chat episode is a “very serious” problem.
How Do Republicans Feel About The Economy?
While Republicans overwhelmingly say they approve of how Trump’s handling the economy, 43% say the president could still be doing more to lower prices. Republicans also broadly approve of Trump imposing tariffs on foreign imports, with 78% backing tariffs on other countries, even as 64% majority acknowledge it will raise prices for consumers in the short term. GOP respondents appear to buy into messaging from the Trump administration that while tariffs may temporarily lead to higher prices, it will make the cost of goods lower in the long term as more companies move operations to America, with 54% saying the tariffs will decrease prices in the coming years. Republicans were split on the impact Trump’s policies have had on the stock market—as stocks have been destabilized over Trump’s constantly shifting tariff agenda—with 33% saying Trump’s policies are making the stock market go up, 31% saying he’s making it go down and 36% saying the president isn’t affecting the market either way.
Key Background
Trump has taken a number of steps in office that have sought to increase the president’s power over the federal government, including signing executive orders that cancel or freeze congressionally approved spending and decrying court rulings the president doesn’t like. While Trump officials have broadly suggested federal judges should not have power over many of the president’s decisions, it has so far not admitted to defying any court rulings, however, and Trump has publicly said he does not believe he can. Republicans in Congress have so far been largely unwilling to push back on any of the president’s moves, even when they have threatened lawmakers’ own authority, such as trying to claw back federal funds that Congress has approved. The CBS poll is broadly in line with other recent polls that show Republicans are largely supportive of Trump and his policies, but have more concerns over whether he’s doing enough to lower prices, though Trump’s 50% approval rating is also rosier than other recent surveys showing Americans are more dissatisfied with the president.
Further Reading
