Majority in U.S. prefer state power over federal one: Gallup

Over half of Americans, or 55 percent, favor power that is concentrated in state governments, outnumbering the 37 percent who favor federal power, a Gallup poll reported on Monday.

The result comes as nearly half of the 50 U.S. states are suing the federal government over its directive to allow transgender students to use bathrooms according to what gender they feel they are, rather than their actual physical gender. Schools that don't comply could risk losing federal funding.

The current lawsuit over transgender bathrooms is one of many battles U.S. states have fought against President Barack Obama's administration.

Obama was unsuccessful this year in defending his executive order on allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the United States while winning the fight to uphold the Affordable Care Act he signed into law in his first term.

The Gallup poll also sees evident difference between the Democrats and Republicans on their support for state power or federal power.

The majority of Democrats (62 percent) support concentrating power at the federal level, while majorities of Republicans (78 percent) and independents (56 percent) favor concentrating power at the state level.

Democrats' preference for federal power is likely related to the present Democrat president in the White House, while the fact that about two in three U.S. state governors are from the Republican Party would explain the Republicans' favor for power at state level, Gallup said.

State power vs. federal power has always been an issue in American society. Americans' preference for state power was recorded in 1981 -- the first year of the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who declared his support for states' rights. In contrast, Americans slightly preferred federal power in the mid-1930s, after then President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled a sweeping series of programs that increased the role of the federal government in Americans' lives. Endi