Poll: Paul Ryan’s approval suffers as Republican agenda stalls
WASHINGTON — It would be hard to find a Republican who has suffered more than House Speaker Paul Ryan as Congress and President Donald Trump have struggled to turn GOP promises into reality.
More people now view the House speaker in a negative light rather than a positive one, 48 percent to 34 percent, according to a Bloomberg National Poll, conducted July 8-12. In December, 31 percent held a negative view, while 47 percent looked at him favorably.
It’s a dramatic turn for one of the Republican Party’s biggest stars and its 2012 vice presidential nominee. The approval rating decline for Ryan is the largest among GOP leaders measured by the Bloomberg survey — and exceeds the drop in approval for the party, Congress and Trump.
“It’s unusual to see this big a flip, especially for a guy who is somewhat behind the scenes,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer, who oversaw the survey. “But he’s in charge of Congress, and Congress is not delivering.”
Congress has struggled to pass major legislation long promised by GOP leaders, including a replacement of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, as Republican lawmakers haven't been able agree about what it should look like or how to proceed.
Greg Bellamy, a 48-year-old pharmacist who lives in a suburb of Nashville, said Ryan hasn’t pushed hard enough to repeal Obamacare and get the government out of health care.
“They’re trying to repeal and replace,” said Bellamy, who voted for Trump and is an independent voter who leans Republican. “They need to repeal and stay the heck out of it.”
Ryan, 47, of Wisconsin, started the year promising a quick repeal of Obamacare to kick off an era of conservative victories with Trump in the White House and Congress under Republican control. Yet now, after he won House approval for his unpopular replacement by promising reluctant Republicans that the Senate would fix it, the upper chamber has abandoned its version of the legislation because it didn’t gain enough support.
If the health care bill fails, it will make another Republican priority — a tax overhaul promised by Trump and Ryan — even harder, the House speaker often says.
A majority of Republicans still see Ryan positively, though even those numbers are declining. Sixty-one percent hold a positive view of Ryan, down from 67 percent in December, according to the Bloomberg poll. His unfavorable rating is 21 percent, up from 16 percent.
Sixty percent of poll respondents said they view Congress negatively. The institution has had even lower approval in recent years, including 70 percent negative in June 2016 as the presidential campaign was underway.