More Americans now disapprove of President Barack Obama than approve of him as high unemployment and government spending scare voters ahead of November's midterm elections, according to a new poll.
In the latest grim news for Mr Obama's Democrats, 72 per cent of people questioned for the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they were very worried about joblessness and 67 per cent were very concerned about government spending.
The unemployment rate of 9.5 per cent and the huge budget deficit are dragging down the Democrats and eating away at Mr Obama's popularity only 20 months after he took office on a wave of hope that he could turnaround the economy.
Another bit of bad economic data arrived today when the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes plummeted in July to their slowest pace in 15 years.
Piling the pressure on Mr Obama, the top Republican in the House of Representatives called on the administration's economic team to quit.
Mr Obama's disapproval rating was 52 per cent in today's poll, overtaking his approval rating for the first time in an Ipsos poll. Only 45 per cent of people said they approved of the president's performance, down from 48 per cent last month.
That number, coupled with 62 per cent who think the country is going in the wrong direction, could spell trouble for Democrats, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
House Republican leader John Boehner called for a fresh start on the economy. In a campaign-style speech, he urged Mr Obama's top economic advisers to resign, saying: "It's time to put grown-ups in charge."
While Mr Obama has two more years before facing voters in a presidential election, all 435 seats in the House are up for grabs, along with 37 Senate seats and 36 governors in November's elections.
Typically in midterm elections - when there is no presidential race - the party in power in the White House suffers losses in Congress.
The Republicans are predicted to perhaps take control of the House and win a significant number of seats in the Senate.
Forty-six per cent of registered US voters would likely vote for Republican candidates in November and 45 per cent for Democrats, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,063 adults and was conducted between August 19th and 22nd.
The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Reuters