Public faith in Congress has fallen lower than that of any institution in at least 41 years, according to Gallup poll released Thursday. Just 7 percent of adults now have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress.
The majority of the poll respondents expressed pessimistic views about Congress. Half said they have "very little" confidence in the institution, and another 7 percent volunteered that they have no confidence in Congress at all.
According to Gallup, this is the lowest rating any major American institution, including television and internet news, big business and organized labor, has received in any of its polls dating back to 1973. This also marks the first time Gallup has ever measured confidence in the single digits for one of those institutions.
Other branches of government fared somewhat better in the most recent survey. Overall, 30 percent of adults said they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot of confidence" in the U.S. Supreme Court, and 29 percent expressed similar views about the presidency.
The institution that received the highest rating was the military, with about three-quarters of respondents saying they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot of confidence" in America's armed forces.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,027 adults by phone between June 5 and June 8.
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