Sixty-six percent of respondents said they wanted an independent commission to investigate the links between Trump campaign advisers and the Russian government. | Getty Poll: Majority of Americans want independent commission to investigate Trump-Russia ties

Most Americans do not support President Donald Trump’s proposed spending cuts, and a majority think that an independent commission should investigate possible links between Trump campaign members and the Russian government, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released Friday.

According to the poll, which surveyed 1,056 voters nationwide from March 16-21, 66 percent of respondents said they wanted an independent commission to investigate the links between Trump campaign advisers and the Russian government, compared to 29 percent who did not think so. Sixty-five percent of respondents think alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is either “very important” or “somewhat important,” and 63 percent said they were “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about Trump’s relationship with Russia.


While 59 percent of respondents disapproved of the way Trump has handled U.S. policy toward Russia, 61 percent of Republicans approved.

When it comes to federal spending, 87 percent of respondents oppose cutting funding for medical research, compared to nine percent who support it. More than 80 percent did not support cutting funding for new transit projects or cutting funding for after-school programs, and 70 percent of respondents opposed eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which Trump’s proposed federal budget calls for.

Respondents supported increased military spending 58-39 percent, and they overwhelmingly supported increasing funds for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide health services to veterans. A majority of respondents said that Trump should not lower taxes on the wealthy, including 50 percent of Republicans.

Voters were divided on the idea of spending federal funds on building a wall along the Mexican border. Sixty-four percent of respondents opposed the idea overall, compared to 35 percent of respondents who supported it, but Republican respondents largely supported funding a Mexican border wall by 74 percent to 24 percent.