Majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs: ABC/Post/Ipsos poll
U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on February 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Majorities of Americans with various income backgrounds, men, women and Americans of all age groups disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs, along with majorities of white, Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans, according to the poll.
A majority of those who did not vote in 2024 disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs along with almost all of those who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. Over 9 in 10 Americans who disapprove of Trump oppose how he is handling tariffs.
While most Republicans approve of how Trump is handling tariffs (75%), that drops to 43% among self-described non-MAGA Republicans (which include independents who lean Republican and call themselves MAGA supporters). A 55% majority of non-MAGA Republicans disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs. Most MAGA Republicans (87%) approve of how he is handling tariffs on imported goods.
In all, 54% of Republicans and Republican- leaning independents say they are supporters of the MAGA movement and 42% say they are not.
While majorities of those with college degrees and without disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs, White people without college degrees are split. White people with college degrees disapprove by a more-than 2-to-1 margin.
Rural Americans are also split over whether they approve or disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs, while most suburban and urban people disapprove.
Opinions on tariffs have remained stable since ABC/Post/Ipsos first asked in April last year; the same share approved and disapproved of how Trump was handling the issue then as they do now.
Methodology — This ABC News-Washington Post-Ipsos poll was conducted via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel, Feb. 12-17, 2026, among 2,589 U.S. adults and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The error margins are larger among partisan group subsamples.
Construction on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Prosecutors from the U.S. attorneys office in Washington were turned away Tuesday after they made an unannounced visit to the Federal Reserve, where they allegedly requested a tour of renovations that have attracted scrutiny from the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The unusual visit prompted immediate backlash from an attorney for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who wrote a letter to D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office, citing the recent ruling from a federal judge that blocked subpoenas to the bank after determining DOJ’s criminal probe was driven by President Donald Trump’s political animus towards Powell.
Robert Hur, who formerly served as special counsel who investigated former President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents and now represents Powell, warned DOJ in the letter reviewed by ABC News that future efforts to initiate contact with Fed representatives should be negotiated through legal counsel.
“As you know, Chief Judge [James] Boasberg has concluded that your interest in the Federal Reserve’s renovation project was pretextual. Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,” Hur said. “I ask that you commit not to seek to communicate with my client outside the presence of counsel.”
According to Hur’s letter, attorneys from Pirro’s office, Carlton Davis and Steven Vandervelden, and a case agent showed up at the Fed’s headquarters, stating they wished to “check on progress” and that they asked for a “tour.”
A source said they were then told they could not access the site without preauthorized clearance from Fed management and were given the contact information for the Fed’s legal counsel, after which the three left the area.
“Any construction project that has cost overruns of almost 80% over the original construction budget deserves some serious review,” Pirro said in a statement on X after the prosecutors were turned away. “And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?”
Pirro publicly vented her frustrations about Boasberg’s ruling that effectively blocked her office from investigating Powell, which she has vowed to continue appealing despite threats from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis to block any confirmation of Powell’s replacement until the criminal probe is resolved.
The probe centered on Powell’s testimony to Congress last year about cost overruns in a multibillion-dollar office renovation project.
Trump on Wednesday again threatened to fire Powell if he does not step down when his term as chair ends May 15.
“I’ll have to fire him, OK, if he’s not leaving on time — I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial, you know, I want to be uncontroversial,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.
Legal experts have questioned if Trump has the authority to fire Powell. His attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook last year is currently awaiting a decision at the Supreme Court.
The confrontational visit also comes as Pirro’s name has repeatedly been floated as a potential permanent replacement for Pam Bondi as the next attorney general.
Powell rebuked the investigation in a video message in January as a politically motivated effort to influence the Fed’s interest rate policy.
Pirro, at a press conference in March, denied that politics played any role in her probe of Powell and the focus was whether public money has been wasted as a result of the Fed’s renovations, and potential false statements to Congress by Powell about the operations.
The U.S. Capitol is seen on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Senators on both sides of the aisle as well as the White House seem to be increasingly optimistic that a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security is on the horizon — as Transportation Security Administration lines grow at airports and lawmakers feel the pressure.
Republican Sen. Katie Britt, a key negotiator for the GOP, told reporters Monday evening that there was a solution on DHS funding. Her comments came after she and other GOP negotiators — Sens. Markwayne Mullin (who was later confirmed to be the DHS secretary), Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno and Steve Daines — met with President Donald Trump at the White House Monday.
The atmosphere on Capitol Hill appears ripe for a DHS funding deal — as the partial shutdown of the department stretches into its 39th day.
Some Senate Republicans are beginning to coalesce around a proposal to fund every agency inside DHS — except immigration enforcement and removal operations. Components of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, like Homeland Security Investigations, which handles things like human smuggling investigations, could still be funded.
Some Republicans have pushed for tackling immigration funding in separate legislation down the road — potentially in another reconciliation bill, which only requires a simple majority to pass.
“Conversations are ongoing but this deal seems to be acceptable,” a White House official said Tuesday.
As the partial shutdown drags on, ICE has money to continue its operations, following a $75 billion cash infusion over five years in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that Trump signed into law last summer. ICE agents continue to be paid, while their other DHS colleagues are not.
Democrats — who are blocking DHS funding and demanding ICE reforms following the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis — still haven’t publicly agreed to anything, although they’ve been open to this piecemeal funding approach for weeks.
Democratic senators on Monday expressed sentiments that talks were trending in a positive direction.
“Democrats and Republicans have been trying to come to some negotiation, and I’m hearing that there is a potential solution,” Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said.
It’s not yet clear how an emerging deal factors in Trump’s demand over the weekend that Republican not make a deal with Democrats on DHS funding without also passing his voting and gender-affirming care legislation, the SAVE America Act.
The legislation would restrict mail-in ballots, require photo ID at polling places and mandate that states obtain proof of citizenship before registering a person to vote in a federal election. Trump has tacked additional provisions onto the list of things he would like to see in the law: banning transgender women from playing in women’s sports and gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
SAVE America Act provisions could also be included in a future reconciliation bill, although nothing is set in stone, and the legislation may not meet strict budget rules to be included in a reconciliation package.
Pressure on lawmakers is mounting as lines grow at airports across the country and tens of thousands of workers, including TSA officers, go without pay. Senators continue to get paid.
ICE agents sent by Trump are now stationed at more than a dozen airports across the nation to assume some of the duties of TSA officers affected by the partial shutdown.
While these recent developments mark the most progress on a DHS funding deal in weeks, it’s still a long way from a done deal. Even if the Senate agrees on a deal and passes it, it would still need to go back to the House.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, during a confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Two Republican challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, will advance to a runoff election in Louisiana’s closely watched GOP primary, The Associated Press projected Saturday — a defeat for Sen. Bill Cassidy who had drawn the ire of President Donald Trump.
Letlow had been endorsed by Trump in a three-way race that was seen as a test of the president’s influence among Republicans.
Letlow and Fleming will face off again in the runoff on June 27.
With nearly 100% of the estimated vote counted, Letlow led with about 45% of the vote, followed by Fleming with about 28%, according to the AP. Cassidy trailed with about 25% of the vote.
The primary defeat marks a stunning loss for Cassidy and a potential warning to other Republicans who risk defying the president, as Trump has sought to oust those he views as disloyal. Trump-backed candidates recently defeated several Indiana state senators who opposed his redistricting plans.
Cassidy’s defeat makes him the first sitting senator to lose a primary since 2017 and the first elected incumbent senator to lose a primary since 2012 — when Indiana GOP Sen. Richard Lugar lost his race to a Tea Party challenger.
Cassidy expressed gratitude for his time in office and acknowledged the race didn’t go like he would have liked.
“But you don’t pout, you don’t whine, you don’t claim the election was stolen,” he said. “You don’t manufacture some excuse –you thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you’ve had that privilege, and that’s what I’m doing right now.”
He also took a thinly veiled jab at Trump without naming him.
“Our country is not about one individual, it is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about our Constitution,” he said. “And it is the welfare of my people and my state and my country and our Constitution, to which I am loyal.”
Trump celebrates
In a post on his social media platform, Trump celebrated Cassidy’s projected defeat and congratulated Letlow.
“Julia Letlow is a fantastic person and, after taking care of some additional business, will make a brilliant Senator for the Great People of Louisiana,” Trump said in the post.
In speech to supporters in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, Letlow opened her remarks thanking Trump.
“I want to say thank you to a very special man, who you all know – the best president this country has ever had: President Donald Trump,” Letlow said.
“When he endorsed me in January, I knew this was going to be a tough race, but tonight Louisiana sent a clear message — that they want a candidate to represent them in the Senate who will always put America first and never turn her back on Louisiana voters,” Letlow continued.
Fleming expressed full confidence he will win the runoff.
“I embrace this challenge enthusiastically. The runoff starts today, and I could not be more energized,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“The people of Louisiana deserve a senator who cannot be bought, will not be bossed, and will never back down,” Fleming said.
On the campaign trail
On the campaign trail, Letlow, a three-term congresswoman, was anything but shy about Trump’s endorsement, casting Cassidy as disloyal and Fleming as out of touch with the president. Her campaign messaging focused in part on defending parental rights and securing the border.
Fleming, a former congressman who later served in various roles in the first Trump administration, pitched himself to voters as the most staunch conservative, though he did not receive a public endorsement from Trump.
For his part, Cassidy, a physician who was first elected to the Senate seat in 2014, argued his record proved he delivered for Louisianans and sought to tie himself to Trump — campaigning on a conservative agenda, arguing against abortion, supporting “strong borders” and co-sponsoring the SAVE America Act, a legislative priority for Trump.
Trump’s endorsement
Trump upended Cassidy’s reelection bid in January when he encouraged Letlow to enter in hopes of defeating Cassidy.
Trump sought to punish Cassidy, who broke with the party as one of seven senators to vote to convict Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The 57-43 vote fell shy of the 67 vote threshold needed to convict Trump.
In a Saturday morning social media post — roughly two hours after polls opened –Trump again ripped on the two-term incumbent while endorsing Letlow. He called Cassidy “disloyal” and castigated him for using his name throughout the campaign.
Despite their fraught relationship, Cassidy has, at times, supported Trump’s agenda. Cassidy, a physician and longtime proponent of vaccines, grilled Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a vaccine skeptic — during his confirmation hearing but cast the deciding vote to advance his nomination.
Yet for some, Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump may have been enough to do him in.
Robert Hogan, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, told ABC News ahead of the primary that some voters still had a “visceral” reaction to Cassidy’s vote to convict the president.
“The Republican activists have been unforgiving,” Hogan said. “This says less about Cassidy, I would say, than it says about the nature of the attraction that voters have towards Trump.”
