- Two new polls released Tuesday showed the GOP tax bill is deeply unpopular with the American public.
- A Gallup poll showed 29% of Americans approve of the bill, while 56% disapprove.
- A Quinnipiac poll showed 29% approved and 53% disapproved.
The Republican tax bill is getting dismal reviews from the American public as it moves closer to becoming law.
Two new polls released Tuesday showed that the bill has become deeply unpopular with the majority of Americans, with many voters believing it would not benefit them and hand the most assistance to wealthier Americans.
A Gallup poll found that 29% of people surveyed approved of the GOP tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while 56% disapproved. Seventy percent of Republicans approved, while just 7% of Democrats were in favor. Independents joined Democrats in relative distaste, with 25% of those polled approving of the legislation and 56% disapproving.
Another poll from Quinnipiac University also found that 29% of those surveyed approved of the TCJA, while 53% disapproved.
Additionally, 64% of Americans said the bill would mostly benefit the wealthy, while 24% said the middle class would see the most benefit.
The two surveys also line up with several that have been released since the start of the Republican tax push.
Analytics site FiveThirtyEight has found that the TCJA was the least popular tax-related bill dating back to 1981 - even less so than two bills that hiked taxes in the 1990s. As of last Wednesday, the bill had average ratings of 32% approval and 46% disapproval, based on polls from five organizations.
Despite the distaste for the bill among the public, Republicans passed legislation through the House and Senate. A conference committee to come up with a compromise bill is expected to kick off its work later this week, with a goal of getting the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk by Christmas.
