Fox News poll shows hemorrhaging GOP health-care support, but Fox News no longer seems interested

Four polls on the Senate Republican health-care bill were released on Wednesday, and the first three were straight-up brutal, with support for the Better Care Reconciliation Act at 17 percent (Marist), 16 percent (Quinnipiac), and 12 percent (USA Today/Suffolk University). "That's a level of popularity so low that it's difficult to believe the bill is being entertained," says Aaron Blake at The Washington Post. Fox News released its own poll Wednesday evening, and the bottom line was only a little better:
Still, 27 percent support is nothing to crow about, and Republicans should perhaps be concerned about the 24-point drop among GOP voters in a month — 51 percent support the Senate bill versus 75 percent who supported the House health-care bill in May. Meanwhile, the Affordable Care Act is getting increasingly popular:
Despite it being a Fox News poll, neither it nor the Senate GOP's push to rewrite the BCRA in 48 hours to ensure passage in July were featured prominently on Fox News Wednesday night. Same on Tuesday night, when Senate leaders' decision to delay a vote on the bill was the top story elsewhere, notes David Weigel at The Washington Post. Instead, Fox News has been talking about CNN, Sarah Palin suing The New York Times, and Susan Rice. "The lack of 'ObamaCare repeal' coverage, unthinkable just six months ago, reflected a general decline of conservative interest in what had united Republicans for seven years," Weigel writes, continuing:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, the White House and a symbiotic conservative media have largely moved on to other topics of media bias and cultural warfare. Fox's multiple segments on the CNN sting came after White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters to watch it. Rush Limbaugh, whose dominant talk show was live during the Senate news, barely mentioned it at all. ... On [Fox News], the only one that has scored presidential interviews this month, the repeal fight is covered as a priority of President Trump that his allies in Congress are doing a poor job of managing. [The Washington Post]
"Having spent years attacking ObamaCare, it may be a bridge too far for conservative talkers to urge Republicans to do it faster and with less transparency," Wisconsin talk-radio host Charlie Sykes tells Weigel. "How do you do a talk show saying: Hey, it's great that they did in secret! It's great — no hearings."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'Some news organizations will fight, in an atmosphere of constant anxiety'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 3, 2025
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - apocalyptic visions, dressing down, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is Europe's defence too reliant on the US?
Today's Big Question As the UK and EU plan to 're-arm', how easy will it be to disentangle from US equipment and support?
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published