Public Confidence in the Supreme Court Declines, Poll Shows

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month found that confidence in the Supreme Court is waning. Only 27 % of adults expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the court, matching the level of confidence reported for the presidency. Overall, 55 % disapprove of the Court’s performance while 41 % approve.

The Hill

Perceptions of partisanship dominate: 46 % of respondents believe the justices decide Trump-administration policies based on political views, whereas 25 % say decisions are grounded in law and roughly 30 % have no opinion. Among those who see politics as decisive, about two-thirds say rulings mainly favored former President Donald Trump, 17 % say they mainly opposed him, and another 17 % say the rulings were neutral. Approval is highest among Republicans (about two-thirds approve), while three-quarters of Democrats disapprove; nearly 60 % of independents also disapprove.

The Hill

The poll follows a term that produced several high-profile decisions. The Court issued rulings that strengthened the president’s power to fire heads of independent agencies, allowed immigration officers to turn back asylum seekers at the southern border, authorized the end of deportation protections for thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants, and upheld statewide bans on transgender athletes in schools.

The Hill

Conversely, the Court struck down the administration’s sweeping global tariffs, invalidated an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, and ruled that the president could not remove a Federal Reserve governor, at least for the time being. These mixed outcomes contribute to the perception that the Court’s agenda aligns closely with partisan goals.

The Hill

During budget testimony on Capitol Hill, Justice Amy Coney Barrett acknowledged the Court’s current scrutiny, stating that the institution is “under real fire these days.” She emphasized the need for the justices to “demonstrate at every turn that we are understanding of the kind of morality that we need to have, and that we need to demonstrate to the public about how important we take the roles that we have, and that we’re not somehow abridging the system or abusing the system.”

The Hill

• “Confidence in the Supreme Court’s decision-making is falling among Americans, according to a newWashington Post-Ipsos poll, with nearly of half of adults believing that the justices are guided by political ideology rather than the rule of law.” — Washington Post-Ipsos poll summary

The Hill

• “I think we have to demonstrate at every turn that we are understanding of the kind of morality that we need to have, and that we need to demonstrate to the public about how important we take the roles that we have, and that we’re not somehow abridging the system or abusing the system,” — Justice Amy Coney Barrett

The Hill

These data and statements illustrate a growing gap between public confidence and the Court’s recent jurisprudence.

The Hill