A strong majority of registered voters nationwide oppose a government shutdown, according to a Morning Consult poll published Wednesday.
A full 65 percent of all voters think Congress should do everything it can to avoid a shutdown, but a surprising number reported they were ok with a shutdown if it was over a key issue.
Overall, 17 percent of respondents reported they felt Congress should force a shutdown if it helps lawmakers achieve their goals. That number includes 22 percent of all Republicans and 13 percent of Democrats.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents assert the government could be shut down in order to find a way to fund the border wall with Mexico, but 54 percent said that issue didn’t warrant such a strong measure.
On the other side of the aisle, 47 percent of Democrats asserted the fight to continue funding planned parenthood was worth shutting the government down, but 43 percent of Democrats opposed the solution.
Fifty-four percent of respondents asserted they supported a shutdown if it leads to greater military and defense spending.
“In theory, a sizable majority of voters dislike the idea of Congress causing a government shutdown,” said Morning Consult co-Founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. “However, when faced with a real-world tradeoff of losing a favorable policy outcome, support for a temporary shutdown rises sharply.”
The House Appropriations Committee is currently drafting the legislation that will decide the continued funding of the federal government, and Republican leadership has so far declined to comment on the issue.
Neither Republicans nor Democrats want a government shutdown. The sticking point is GOP lawmakers want to pass a full budget, not simply a continuing resolution, a measure that Democrats used to fund the government under the Obama administration.
That means Republican leadership will need buy-in from House Democrats with issues like the border wall and the defunding of Planned Parenthood, a highly unlikely scenario.
The poll included 1,990 registered voters, and ran from March 30 through April 1. The poll carried a margin of error of two percentage points in either direction.
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