Story highlights Fellow Republicans are dragging down House Speaker Paul Ryan's approval ratings

Ryan is shouldering the blame for Republican legislative failures, not Trump

Washington (CNN) House Speaker Paul Ryan is the least popular person to hold that job in a very long time, according to a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center.

A majority -- 54% -- disapprove of how the Wisconsin Republican is leading the House. Just 29% approve. Those numbers compare poorly to other Speakers -- Democratic and Republican -- in April of their first year in power. (Worth noting: This is not an apples to apples comparison with Ryan; the similar time period for Ryan would be February 2016.)

In April 1995, 42% of people disapproved of the job Newt Gingrich was doing as Speaker. Just 30% disapproved of how Nancy Pelosi was doing her job in April 2007 and 34% said the same of John Boehner in April 2011.

The question I had was how did Ryan get so unpopular, so quickly? Gingrich, after all, instituted a series of major changes soon after taking over the House majority, and had already become a major national figure; he was in near-constant conflict with President Bill Clinton. Ryan, at least personality-wise, is not anything close to the brash and unapologetic Gingrich.

The answer is, in short: Lots more Republicans are unhappy about the job Ryan is doing than felt the same way about Boehner or Gingrich, or Democrats felt about Pelosi.

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