Congress just hit 10% approval in the latest Gallup poll — one single percentage point above the all-time record low. The survey, conducted April 1–15, 2026, found 86% of Americans disapprove of how Congress is handling its job, tying a historic low. That means nine out of ten Americans have had enough.
The number sent shockwaves through Washington — not because it was unexpected, but because of how close it came to rock bottom. The all-time low was 9%, recorded in November 2013 during a government shutdown. We are now just one percentage point away from matching the worst congressional approval rating in modern American history.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) went on Fox Business to point the finger squarely at Democrats, blaming them for the historic collapse. He cited the record-long DHS shutdown — now in its tenth consecutive week — and the ongoing standoff over Affordable Care Act funding as proof that Democrats are actively blocking progress. Critics were quick to fire back: Republicans control the House of Representatives, where Jordan himself chairs the powerful Judiciary Committee. The gavels are on the Republican side of the aisle.
The DHS funding standoff isn’t just abstract politics — it has real consequences that began with tragedy. The shutdown was triggered after two American citizens were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. Renée Good, 37, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 7th. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old VA nurse, was shot and killed by two CBP officers on January 24th while filming agents during an enforcement operation. Minnesota officials immediately demanded a federal investigation into both shootings, and Democrats have since made accountability for those deaths a condition of any DHS funding agreement. Republicans have refused to accept those conditions.
The shutdown is now the longest DHS funding gap in American history, and it shows no signs of ending. Thousands of federal immigration employees have been working without pay or placed on leave. Border processing has slowed significantly. And the two families still waiting for answers about their loved ones’ deaths remain in limbo as the political standoff grinds on.
Both parties are blaming each other, and both have legitimate points — which is exactly why voters are done with all of them. The Gallup poll also captured broader frustration: Americans are dealing with ongoing U.S.-Iran war tensions, rising gas prices that have returned to near-record levels, and two separate congressional ethics scandals that ended in resignations just in the past few months.
Congress hasn’t had majority approval in over two decades. The last time more than half of Americans approved of how Congress was doing its job was in the early 2000s, and it has been a steady decline since. At 10%, the institution is barely registering as functional in the eyes of the public it’s supposed to serve.
The next debt ceiling vote is expected within weeks. If Congress can’t resolve the DHS standoff before then, some analysts expect approval to drop even further — potentially setting a new all-time low. For Jim Jordan, Democrats, and every other member on Capitol Hill, the clock is ticking.