58% Say Congress Should Have To Approve Tariffs

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• Nearly 6 in 10 voters (58%) say that the approval of Congress should be required to impose tariffs. Just one third (32%) disagree.
  • This is largely unchanged since November, when both numbers were 3 points higher.
  • Since we first asked the question a year ago, a majority of voters have always felt congressional approval should be required.
  • Trump-policy voters say the president should be able to impose tariffs on his own by a 70% to 12% margin. Double-digit majorities of Traditional Republican voters, AOC-policy voters, and Traditional Democratic voters disagree.
• Currently, 52% of voters disapprove of how President Trump is handling the issue of tariffs.
  • Forty-four percent (44%) approve.
  • These numbers include 20% who Strongly Approve, and nearly twice as many (38%) who Strongly Disapprove.
  • Republicans approve of the president’s handling of the issue by a 78% to 18% margin.
  • Democrats disapprove by an even larger 85% to 13% margin.
  • A majority has disapproved of the president on this issue since late July, while his lowest numbers came in April of 2025, just after the tariffs were announced, when 41% approved and 54% disapproved.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, February 2-3, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.