Half of Americans say they have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of confidence in President Barack Obama’s economic leadership, according to Gallup's most recent Economy and Personal Finance poll.

Americans expressed more confidence in the president in 2009 (71%) and 2013 (57%), the first years of his first and second terms, and less confidence in him in 2014 (42%), Gallup’s Jeffrey M. Jones reported.

The results are based on Gallup's April 6-10 poll. Gallup has asked the same question each April throughout Obama's eight years as president. An average of 53% of Americans over that period have expressed confidence in Obama's ability to manage the economy, Gallup reported. That is similar to the 54% average from 2001 to 2008 for George W. Bush, the only other president about whom Gallup has asked this question, Gallup reported.

The survey also discovered 3 interesting facets of Americans’ attitude on politicians and economic officials:

• Americans Least Trusting in Republican Leaders in Congress: Americans are significantly less confident in the economic stewardship of Republican leaders in Congress than in Democratic leaders, with 33% saying they are confident in GOP congressional leaders. That represents a slight decline from 38% last year but is above the 2014 low point of 24%,” Gallup reported.
• Majority Do Not Trust Democratic Leaders in Congress: “Forty-two percent of Americans have confidence in Democratic congressional leaders on the economy, while 57% are not confident. The current level of confidence in Democratic leaders is in the lower range of what Gallup has measured since 2001, but above the low of 35% in 2014,” Gallup reported.
• Americans Split as to Whether They Trust Yellen: “One in four Americans still do not know Fed Chairman Janet Yellen well enough to say whether they are confident in her ability to do the right thing for the economy. Currently, 38% have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in her, 35% say they have "only a little" or almost no confidence and 26% do not have an opinion,” Gallup reported.

To be sure, the GOP’s Kevin Brady doesn’t have any faith in Obama’s economic leadership.

Brady, a Texas Republican and chairman of the tax-writing House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, claims Obama's proposed rules to stop U.S. companies from reincorporating abroad, if only on paper, to avoid U.S. income taxes appear to overstep legal authority, Reuters reported.

Brady said his staff is scrutinizing the rules, which were unveiled last week by the U.S. Treasury Department. Legal experts have offered mixed views on the viability of any court challenge.

The new rules, intended to discourage tax "inversions," led to the collapse of U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc.'s $160 billion acquisition of Ireland's Allergan Plc.

"We recognize there is broad discretion in some areas of that tax code," Brady said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "But it certainly appears that Treasury overstepped its authority, especially in effect, taking legislative proposals that haven't passed this Congress or any other Congress and essentially making it law through regulation."

(Newsmax wire services contributed to this report).

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