By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval was at 41% in recent days, close to the lowest level of his presidency but little changed following a tense negotiation with congressional Republicans over the federal government's debt, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
The four-day poll, which ended on Monday, showed a marginal increase in Biden's popularity from last month, when 40% of respondents said they approved of his performance since taking office in January 2021. The poll has a margin of error of three percentage points.
The economy remained the top concern, amid high rates of inflation and a push by central bankers to tame prices by raising interest rates, which has made mortgages and car loans costlier.
Democrat Biden reached a deal last week with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top elected Republican official, to suspend a limit on federal borrowing following weeks of talks. The deal averted the financial disaster that would have unfolded if the government were forced to stop paying all its bills.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed only 27% of Americans approve of how McCarthy is handling his job.
Some 56% of the poll's respondents supported sending more U.S. weapons and financial aid to Ukraine in its war against invading Russian forces, about the same share as in a February poll.
But that backing is not evenly distributed across the two political parties. Some 73% of Democrats said they backed more aid, compared to 44% of Republicans.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,056 adults, using a nationally representative sample.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Andy Sullivan and Grant McCool)
