66% Americans want independent commission for Trump-Russia probe

The majority of Americans do not support President Donald Trump's proposed spending cuts, and they think that an independent commission should probe possible links with Russia, a latest poll said.

According to the Quinnipiac University national poll on Friday, which surveyed 1,056 voters from March 16-21, 66 per cent respondents said they wanted an independent commission to probe the links between Trump campaign advisers and Moscow, compared to the 29 per cent who did not think so, Politico news reported.

Sixty five per cent respondents think alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is either "very important" or "somewhat important", and 63 per cent said they were "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about Trump's relationship with Russia.

While 59 per cent of respondents disapproved of the way Trump has handled US policy toward Russia, 61 per cent of Republicans approved. On federal spending, 87 per cent of respondents oppose cutting funding for medical research, compared to 9 per cent who support it.

More than 80 per cent did not support cutting funding for new transit projects or cutting funding for after-school programmes, and 70 per cent of respondents opposed eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which Trump's proposed federal budget calls for, Politico news quoted the poll as saying.