Gallup: Congressional approval ticks up

While Americans still have a dismal view of Congress, the legislative body’s approval rating continues to rise, now standing at 20 percent, according to a new Gallup poll.

{mosads}That mark is up from 16 percent at the start of the year and up 9 percentage points from the end of 2013.

This is the first Gallup poll since Republicans took control of both chambers of Congress.

Approval ratings typically jump at the beginning of a new Congress, and this increase is significantly smaller than those after the last two party changes. Congressional approval rose 7 percentage points, when the GOP retook the House in 2011, while it shot up 14 percentage points in 2007, when Democrats took control.

Congressional approval, once 84 percent in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, hasn’t rose above 39 percent since 2005. President Obama’s most recent Gallup approval rate is at 49 percent, also a slight upward trend.