The public continues to feel jittery about the economy at the end of the first quarter of the calendar year, as Congress and the White House consider legislative and executive actions that could have far-reaching economic effects: among them tariffs, tax cuts and job losses in the federal workforce.

Last week, The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, coming close to February’s drop in the same index. The Board’s Expectations Index was particularly brutal, dropping 9.6 points to 65.2, “the lowest level in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead,” the Board said in a statement.

That lack of consumer confidence was complemented by a smattering of surveys in the last week and a half — Harvard-Harris, Rasmussen Reports, The Economist/YouGov and Reuters/Ipsos — that showed a net-negative view of the direction of the country, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Still, the economy

Meanwhile, an Economist/YouGov survey conducted March 22-25 showed a consistent prioritization of people’s most important issues: “inflation/prices” (26 percent), “jobs and the economy” (13 percent) and “health care” (10 percent). Everything else was measured in single digits, including “immigration” (7 percent) and “taxes and government spending” (7 percent), among others. That was largely in line with a similar survey by The Economist/YouGov in February.

This comes as President Donald Trump has continued to impose, or threaten to impose, tariffs on trading partners and goods from abroad, from automobiles to booze, moves that virtually all mainstream economists expect to drive up prices and inflation. The Senate this week could consider a measure to terminate the national emergency declaration Trump is using to push through 25 percent tariffs on some Canadian goods. The chamber could also consider a budget resolution that Senate committees could use to start pulling together a larger policy package that would, among other things, cut taxes and funding for many government services.

Public views of public figures

Coming on the heels of a February spike in Gallup approval ratings for Congress (29 percent), most recent polling for Congress showed the public still largely has a negative view of the legislative branch. That aforementioned Economist/YouGov had lawmakers coming in at 24 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval, with the rest either not sure or neither approving nor disapproving.

A Harvard-Harris survey conducted March 26-27 showed a congressional approval rating slightly higher, at 36 percent, with 52 percent disapproving, still a net negative.

Trump’s numbers show a broader range, with Gallup’s March numbers having him at 43 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval, and more recent polling more divergent, ranging from a CBS News poll that had him at a 50-50 tie, to the Harvard-Harris poll showing him with 49 percent approval and 46 disapproval, to the Economist/YouGov survey, which had him at 48 percent approval and 50 disapproval.

Regardless of those approval/disapproval numbers, though, the trend line on economic and direction-of-the-country sentiment is clear: The public is worried. And that comes at a time when Congress and the administration are taking actions that could have an effect on the economy, from signing off on tariffs to the firings of thousands of federal workers to funding decisions about Medicaid.

Jason Dick is editor-in-chief of CQ Roll Call.