WASHINGTON (AP) — As Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick as attorney general, prepares to be questioned by senators on Wednesday, only about two in 10 U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” confident that The Justice Department will act A poll found that he acted fairly and impartially during his second term.
Their confidence in the FBI’s neutrality is similarly low, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted before Trump’s Cabinet confirmation hearings began. Even some Republicans are expressing uncertainty about the Justice Department and the FBI, suggesting that even after they take office, it could be hard for Trump and his allies to restore trust in law enforcement agencies they have heavily criticized.
In addition to doubts about the fresh Trump administration, the poll also shows that Americans’ views of several of his most prominent nominees are more negative than positive, although many have no opinion about the people he has chosen for his Cabinet.
However, one of Trump’s most controversial candidates, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is still very popular with Republicans, according to the poll. Kennedy, scion of a Democratic dynasty and prominent vaccine skeptic, was named top health official. His confirmation hearings have not been scheduled.
Doubts about the fairness of law enforcement
Trump chose loyalists to lead the Justice Department and FBI after threatening retaliation against perceived opponents. Relatively few Americans are confident that these agencies will act fairly and impartially over the next four years, according to the survey.
About half of Americans are “not very” or “not at all” confident that the Justice Department and FBI will act fairly and impartially during Trump’s second term, while about a third are “somewhat” confident and about two percent 10 are “extremely.” ” or “very” confident.
Even as a fresh Republican administration prepares to take control, Republicans are divided over whether the DOJ and FBI will remain neutral. Only about a quarter of Republicans are at least “very” confident that authorities will behave impartially, while about 4 in 10 are “somewhat” confident and about a third are “not very” or “not at all.” confident.
Their uncertainty may reflect the fact that the country’s law enforcement agencies have come under intense criticism in recent years from Trump and his allies, including Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, and Kash Patel, his pick to lead the FBI. In a radio appearance, Bondi described special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump in two federal cases, and other prosecutors who prosecuted Trump as “terrible” people who she said were trying to make a name for themselves by being “Donald Trump persecuted and used weapons”. our legal system.”
Patel, meanwhile, has called for dramatic changes at the FBI, including reducing its presence and authority.
Opinions about the main nominees are more negative than positive
The poll found that only about two in 10 Americans support appointing Pete Hegseth as defense secretary. He faced contentious confirmation hearings on Tuesday. A similarly compact share say they “somewhat” or “strongly” support the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief and the selection of Patel as FBI director. About a third of Americans disapprove of each individual choice, while the rest either have no opinion or don’t know enough to say anything.
Many Republicans agree with Trump’s choice of Hegseth, Gabbard and Patel – about four in 10 support their nominations – although a significant portion do not know or have an opinion about the nominees.
The poll also shows that many Americans may be skeptical of Trump’s strategy in selecting some Cabinet nominees, such as Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel weekend host who does not have a conventional track record in government. Only about a quarter think it would be a good thing for the president to rely on people without government experience for advice on government policy, while about half say it would be a bad thing and the rest say it would be bad or not bad.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats or independents to say relying on people with no government experience is a good thing for the president — about 4 in 10 say this, compared with about 2 in 10 independents and about 1 in 10 Democrats — while about 3 out of 10 say this, 10 say it is neither good nor bad, and about a quarter say it is a bad thing.
The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is very popular among Republicans
But not all of the nominees are unknown – and at least one has many fans in Trump’s base. Kennedy, who has promised to overhaul the Health Department’s workforce, has greater name recognition than Hegseth, Gabbard or Patel, but Americans’ feelings toward him are still more frosty than balmy. About three in 10 U.S. adults “somewhat” or “strongly” approve of Kennedy’s nomination, while about four in 10 “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose it, and the rest are neutral or don’t know enough to say anything.
Republicans, however, are largely supporters of Kennedy’s nomination, with about six in 10 respondents saying they support his choice as secretary of Health and Human Services.
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,147 adults was conducted Jan. 9-13. A sample was used from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is intended to be representative of the US population. The overall sampling error rate for adults is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
