Story highlights Republicans' views of their party in Congress are above water for the first time since June

Independents disapprove of the tax plan by 3-to-1 and Democrats by 30-to-1

Washington (CNN) Republicans in Congress say passing their sweeping tax reform plan will be a Christmas gift to the American people -- and it looks like Republican voters are already starting to give back.

new Quinnipiac University poll this week found that Republicans' views of their own party in Congress are above water for the first time since June, climbing from a 32-60% approval rating to a 47-43% score over the last month as the first drafts of tax reform passed both chambers.

It's still not a great approval rating for congressional Republicans to have among their own voters. The GOP had kicked off the year with a 66% approval rating among GOP voters -- and President Donald Trump is even higher than that among Republicans now.

But it's certainly an improvement from when approval of House Speaker Paul Ryan's and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's troops plummeted to a dismal one in three Republican voters after Obamacare repeal and replace failed (and failed again) over the summer.

"We want to give you, the American people, a giant tax cut for Christmas. And when I say giant, I mean giant," Trump said Wednesday. "Now we are just days away, I hope, I hope ... from keeping that promise."

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