CNN’s data guru: Democrats continue to ‘hate’ their own leadership

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten revealed on Friday that Democrats continue to disapprove of their own congressional leaders.

A CNN/SSRS poll found that 57% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters disapprove of their party’s congressional leadership as of January, which is down from the record-high of 61% in April 2025, Enten said on “CNN News Central.” Voters do not seem satisfied with the Democrats’ performance in Congress or their ability to fight back against President Donald Trump.

“Take a look at how Democrats who disapprove of congressional Democratic leaders,” Enten said. “We’re talking about 57 percent in January of 2026. The second highest disapproval rate for Democratic leaders from their own party on record. It’s only beat by what we saw earlier on in this Congress when it was 61 percent. There’s basically been no improvement. Democrats hate their own congressional leaders. These numbers are awful, awful, awful.”

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Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters believe congressional Democrats are doing “too little” to fight against Trump, according to the CNN/SSRS poll. Meanwhile, 17% of the respondents believe they are doing the right amount to oppose Trump.

“Democrats want fighters in Congress. And at this point, they do not believe that the Democrats in Congress are fighting enough to oppose President Trump’s agenda,” Enten continued.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s approval rating among Democrats is currently underwater at -2 points, which dropped from +11 in January 2025, Enten pointed out, citing Pew Research. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ approval rose from +22 to +29 points in comparison to January 2025.

Schumer received backlash from his own voters and colleagues after eight Democrats voted in favor of a Republican-led resolution to reopen the government in November. Many Democrats believed that Schumer failed to unify his party against Trump and Republicans by allowing the government to reopen without extensions to Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.

Democrats have suffered from historically low approval ratings since the 2024 election. A Quinnipiac University national survey found in December that only 18% of voters approved of congressional Democrats’ job performances, while a survey from The Wall Street Journal in July found that the party’s net favorability rating was -30 points, the lowest on record.

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