Federal Government

About half of U.S. adults say the country's mission in Afghanistan has mostly failed in achieving its goals, while about a third say it has mostly succeeded.

Six-in-ten Americans say it is the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. The share of Americans saying health care coverage is a government responsibility remains at its highest level in a decade.

Turnout in this year's primaries for Congress and most state governorships surged compared with the last midterms in 2014, particularly among Democrats. Nearly a fifth (19.6%) of registered voters – about 37 million – cast ballots in primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives – a 56% increase over the 23.7 million who voted in 2014's House primaries. Turnout that year was 13.7% of registered voters.

Americans’ views of Robert Mueller's investigation – and Donald Trump’s handling of the matter – continue to grow more polarized.

The ways that social media shape political attitudes and the intricacies of lawmaking in Congress were two of many topics at the APSA annual conference.

Large majorities in eight Western European countries trust the military, ranging from 84% in France to 66% in Spain. Similarly, eight-in-ten Americans have confidence in the military.

Ahead of the Senate’s deliberations over Kavanaugh, here’s a look at where the public stands on some of the major legal, political and social issues that could come before the Supreme Court in the years ahead.

Women are running for Congress in record numbers this year, and most Americans say this is a good thing. But there’s little consensus among the public about how – or whether – things would change if more women were elected. More than four-in-ten Americans say they personally hope a woman will be elected president in their lifetime.

At least 65 of the current voting members of Congress are immigrants or the children of immigrants. These members represent nearly half of U.S. states.

For the average moderate legislator, about 54% of a member’s Facebook posts discussed local issues between 2015 and 2017. But for the average very liberal or very conservative legislator, just 38% of posts dealt with local issues.