A majority of Americans say they disapprove of how Republicans and the Trump administration have handled the budget deficit, according to a new American Barometer poll.
Fifty-six percent said they disproved of the handling of the budget deficit, which is set to top $1 trillion this year under the administration’s own estimates. Just 44 percent said they approved.
The survey, a joint project of The Hill and the HarrisX polling company, found that just 21 percent of Republicans, however, disapprove of the GOP’s handling of the deficit. Seventy-nine percent of Republicans polled said they approved of the work done by the administration and Republicans on the deficit.
Democrats and Independents see the rising red ink as a problem.
Only 19 percent of Democrats polled said they approved of how the administration and GOP has handled the budget, compared to 81 percent who disapproved.
Among Independents agreed, 65 percent said they disapproved of the budget deficit’s handling, compared to 35 percent who approved.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimated last month that federal deficits could surpass $1 trillion in 2019. That figure would make up 5.1 percent of the U.S.’ gross domestic product (GDP).
The rising red ink comes after a tax-cut law, and a massive omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Trump earlier this year. Trump has vowed to never again sign such a massive spending bill, and Republicans in Congress are working to send smaller packages of spending bills for the next fiscal year to his desk to avoid one big spending bill.
Trump and Republicans have highlighted the growing economy as part of their midterm election messaging. The economy grew at a strong 4.1 percent clip in the second quarter.
The HarrisX survey was conducted on July 29-30 among 1,058 registered voters. The sampling margin of error is 3.01 percentage points.
— Julia Manchester
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