WASHINGTON _ It would be hard to find a Republican who has suffered more than House Speaker Paul Ryan as Congress and President Donald Trump have struggled to turn GOP promises into reality.
More people now view the House speaker in a negative light rather than a positive one, 48 percent to 34 percent, according to a Bloomberg National Poll, conducted July 8-12. In December, 31 percent held a negative view, while 47 percent looked at him favorably.
It's a dramatic turn for one of the Republican Party's biggest stars and its 2012 vice presidential nominee. The approval rating decline for Ryan is the largest among GOP leaders measured by the Bloomberg survey _ and exceeds the drop in approval for the party, Congress and Trump.
"It's unusual to see this big a flip, especially for a guy who is somewhat behind the scenes," said pollster J. Ann Selzer, who oversaw the survey. "But he's in charge of Congress and Congress is not delivering."
Congress has struggled to pass major legislation long promised by GOP leaders, including a replacement of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, as Republican lawmakers haven't been able agree about what it should look like or how to proceed.
Greg Bellamy, a 48-year-old pharmacist who lives in a suburb of Nashville, said Ryan hasn't pushed hard enough to repeal Obamacare and get the government out of health care.
"They're trying to repeal and replace," said Bellamy, who voted for Trump and is an independent voter who leans Republican. "They need to repeal and stay the heck out of it."
Ryan, 47, of Wisconsin, started the year promising a quick repeal of Obamacare to kick off an era of conservative victories with Trump in the White House and Congress under Republican control. Yet now, after he won House approval for his unpopular replacement by promising reluctant Republicans that the Senate would fix it, the upper chamber has abandoned its version of the legislation because it didn't gain enough support.
If the health care bill fails, it will make another Republican priority _ a tax overhaul promised by Trump and Ryan _ even harder, the House speaker often says.
A majority of Republicans still see Ryan positively, though even those numbers are declining. Sixty-one percent hold a positive view of Ryan, down from 67 percent in December, according to the Bloomberg poll. His unfavorable rating is 21 percent, up from 16 percent.
Sixty percent of poll respondents said they view Congress negatively. The institution has had even lower approval in recent years, including 70 percent negative in June 2016 as the presidential campaign was underway.
Since Trump took office in January, Congress has approved some lower-profile legislation as the debate over Obamacare has delayed consideration of other major bills. Republicans used a temporary review period to undo Obama's last-minute regulations. The House also passed bills to rework financial regulations and help victims of human trafficking _ measures that haven't been taken up in the Senate. A measure to improve accountability in the Department of Veterans Affairs was passed by both chambers and signed into law by Trump.
Relatively small advances are lost on the GOP faithful who have for years been hearing promises to dismantle Obamacare and lower taxes, according to Doug Heye, a consultant who worked in the U.S. House for former Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
"Among those Republican voters who are disappointed so far _ and are mostly pointing fingers at Congress and not Trump _ they're going to want to see some points on the board," Heye said. "If you're a conservative primary voter, really good smart legislation that they've passed this year isn't what they're looking for. They're looking for repeal and replace, and they want a tax cut."
Trump in recent weeks has been urging Republicans to give up on their unpopular health insurance plan and push forward with just a repeal, leaving a decision on a replacement for later. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would try to do just that, but senators already are saying they are reluctant to support such a drastic plan.
As the Obamacare drama plays out, the public is growing frustrated with the GOP. The unfavorable view of the party jumped to 53 percent, up 9 points since December. The Democratic Party's negative rating was down 1 point to 48 percent.
There's no consensus among Americans on whether cutting corporate taxes would create jobs, according to the Bloomberg poll. Almost three-quarters of Republicans say it would, while an equal proportion of Democrats say it wouldn't.
One fiscal question where there is strong agreement: 70 percent say it's not acceptable to increase the federal deficit to cut taxes. That will be a challenge amid disagreement among Republicans over how to offset deep cuts to the corporate rate and other changes to simplify the tax code.
Like Ryan and Trump, several top White House officials are viewed more negatively than positively. His chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is viewed negatively by 47 percent _ a 10-point increase since December _ and positively by 22 percent.
Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is viewed negatively by 47 percent and positively by 29 percent. Trump's daughter and an assistant to the president, Ivanka, is viewed unfavorably by 42 percent, up 15 points since August.
The jobs of administration officials, however, really depend on one opinion only: Trump's. Ryan and his Republican majority in the House will be up for re-election in a little over a year, and may be held to account by voters if the party's biggest promises don't advance in Congress.
The telephone poll of 1,001 American adults has margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points and higher among subgroups. It was conducted by Iowa-based Selzer & Co.
