Joe Bidens approval ratings arent great, a trend that could have disastrous consequences for his party in Novembers congressional midterm elections.

Polls have consistently shown Bidens approval rating below the 50% mark, with steep declines among both liberal-learning young people and Hispanics. The FiveThirtyEight polling average , meanwhile, has Biden at 42% suggesting bipartisan dissatisfaction with his administration.

Bidens first year in office was marked by some historic victories, but the bulk of his agenda in Congress has totally stalled. His numbers tanked after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and his partys dysfunction in Congress hasnt helped. Still, Democratic lawmakers say the resurgent coronavirus pandemic and its economic effects deserve more blame.

Americans have increasingly disapproved of Bidens handling of the coronavirus outbreak since the summer, when the delta variant first surged. The more contagious but milder omicron variant which emerged during the holidays, exacerbated labor shortages and highlighted insufficiencies in COVID testing infrastructure has not helped Bidens numbers.

The effect of the pandemic is still psychologically very burdensome on everybody, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said. I think the American public might be feeling differently in eight months or so.

I think a major factor is inflation, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), adding that he thinks Biden is blamed for stuff thats beyond his control. People go buy gas and milk and theyre angry. We need to stop the rise in prices. Hes taking some steps in that direction.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), perhaps the single Democrat most responsible for Bidens trouble enacting his agenda, had his own theory.

Maybe enough people arent listening to him, Manchin told HuffPost. He makes a lot of sense and gives a good talk.

With Build Back Better stalled, Bidens poor approval ratings have become an I told you so moment for progressives, who held up a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill for months, demanding that Build Back Better, their social spending and tax proposal, be passed alongside it.

If youre a moderate in the Democratic Party, 2021 played out exactly like you wanted when only infrastructure passed Congress after the Rescue Plan, Sen. Bernie Sanders communications director Mike Casca tweeted this week . So how do you answer for low approval ratings for the president and dimming prospects for the party in November?