Support for the impeachment and removal of President Trump has fallen slightly in the run-up to the House vote on two articles of impeachment, while Trump’s approval rating has risen, according to a Gallup poll released on Wednesday.
On Wednesday the House will vote on two articles of impeachment against the President, one for abuse of power and another for obstruction of Congress.
Currently, less Americans support impeachment (46 percent) than oppose it (51 percent), the poll reports. Support has dropped six percentage points since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first announced the opening of an impeachment inquiry in October, while opposition to impeachment has risen by five percentage points over the same period.
85 percent of Democrats support impeachment versus five percent of Republicans, underscoring the vast partisan divide over removing Trump from office. Support among Independents, 55 percent of whom backed impeachment in October, has dropped to 48 percent in the latest poll.
Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating stands at 42 percent, up from 34 percent when the impeachment inquiry was announced. Approval among Republicans stands at 89 percent and 8 percent among Democrats.
The impeachment articles are expected to pass the House’s vote by a comfortable margin largely along party lines. There will likely be no Republican defectors and only two Democrats have declared they will join Republicans in voting against both articles.
One of those Democrats, New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew, is reportedly planning to switch parties in the near future. However, according to CNN, Van Drew will not announce the switch on Wednesday and will vote against impeachment as a Democrat.