The shutdown has begun to take its toll on President Trump’s poll numbers. The president’s approval rating in Rasmussen’s Daily Tracking Poll fell to its lowest level in nearly a year on Monday.

Nate Silver also noted the shutdown’s adverse effects on Trump’s approval rating. As he tweeted this past weekend:

Trump approval rating continues on a slow but fairly linear decline since the shutdown began. If he's being told this is helping him politically, he's probably not getting good advice. https://t.co/j7XEedEnAf pic.twitter.com/UU3KpR7qjL
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) January 13, 2019

Yet while Trump’s numbers are falling, Nancy Pelosi’s are rising.

A core group of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus is urging President Donald Trump against the explosive step of declaring a national emergency to build his wall.

Multiple Republicans in the conservative group have privately raised their concerns with the Trump administration, fearing it would lead to a years-long legal standoff that Democrats could win while setting a dangerous precedent for the presidency, according to more than a dozen lawmakers and GOP aides. They want Trump to hold out for a deal with Democrats, regardless of how long the partial government shutdown drags on.


Trump’s possible pursuit of an emergency declaration on the border divided the caucus during an animated meeting Wednesday night, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting. Members wrestled with constitutional concerns. GOP Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan was reportedly particularly outspoken. Searching for an alternative, the group kicked around other, more legally sound ways for Trump to raise revenue for the wall.

“[Trump] has more options on the table than what I have read about,” said Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who has sponsored a bill allowing private citizens to make contributions toward building and maintaining border walls. “We shared some of those ideas.”