By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Majorities of Americans want the newly elected Democratic-majority US Congress to act to end the war with Iran and to repeal tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump, signaling demand for quick action to address the high cost of living, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The four-day poll, completed on Monday, showed 71% of Americans — including 93% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans — want US Congress to pass legislation ending the conflict with Iran that Trump launched alongside US ally Israel in February.
Democrats won their largest majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives since at least 2008 in last week’s midterm elections, in a sharp rebuke to Trump’s Republicans over high costs and a deeply unpopular war. Democrats will take power when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.
A smaller but still-significant share of respondents — 62% — said they would support an effort to repeal tariffs on imports put in place by the Trump administration.
The war with Iran has pushed fuel prices sharply higher, adding to inflation already stoked by the new taxes Trump slapped on hundreds of imported goods. Trump has defended the war as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The tariffs, he has said, will boost American industry by protecting it from cheap imports.
Democratic Party leaders have vowed to address cost of living concerns, and say they will try to force an end to the US war with Iran. Many in the party have also vowed to end Trump’s tariffs.
DESIRE FOR BIPARTISANSHIP
Large majorities of people in both political parties said it was important for Trump to make an effort to work with Democrats and for Democratic leaders in the new Congress to try to work with the president.
Nine in 10 respondents said cost of living issues should be a focus for the Congress during its first 100 days. Smaller shares wanted a focus on issues like artificial intelligence regulation, immigration reform and climate change.
OPPOSITION TO IMPEACHMENT
But many Americans appear concerned Democrats will use their new power to launch legal proceedings against Trump. Some 42% of poll respondents said it would be “bad for the country” if the new Congress tried to impeach Trump, compared with 33% who said it would be good for the country. The rest weren’t sure or didn’t answer the question.
Congressional Democrats are divided on how to bring down healthcare costs, and also disagree on how aggressively to target Trump, including whether to impeach the president or members of his cabinet. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to face a House impeachment vote this week, following a move by a Republican lawmaker.
While Trump said after the elections he would “probably” get along with Democrats, he also promoted Stephen Miller, a polarizing aide who has called the Democratic Party a domestic extremist group, to be his new White House chief of staff.
While the poll showed Trump’s approval rating near the lowest level of his political career, at 32%, it also showed Democrats were not particularly popular either.
Some 45% of Americans had a favorable view of Democrats, while 51% had an unfavorable view. Some 35% had a favorable view of Republicans and 60% viewed them unfavorably.
Asked which party had a better approach to regulating artificial intelligence, which could be an important issue for Congress in the coming months, 28% picked Democrats and 20% picked Republicans while the rest said they weren’t sure or that neither was better.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online and nationwide, gathered responses from 1,705 US adults and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
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