Republican dissatisfaction drives record disapproval after a term marked by high-profile defeats for the Trump administration.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Public approval of the U.S. Supreme Court has hit a record low of 33%, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday, marking a six-point drop from the previous low of 39% recorded a year ago. The survey, conducted from July 1-19, also found disapproval at a record high of 61%, up from 52% last September.
The decline in approval was driven almost entirely by Republicans, whose support for the court fell to 58% from a near-record 79% in September 2025—a 21-point slide that returned GOP approval to its long-term average of 56%. Democratic approval remained steady at 12%, while independent approval sat at 35%, both near historic lows.
Gallup, which has tracked Supreme Court approval since 2000, called the latest reading the lowest in its trend by a significant margin. Analyst Jeffrey M. Jones attributed the Republican drop to disappointment with rulings that thwarted key Trump administration priorities. During its latest term, the Court struck down Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, rejected his legal basis for imposing tariffs without congressional authorization, and blocked his attempt to immediately remove Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook on due process grounds. The justices also allowed states to continue counting mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day.
The Court did deliver wins to the administration, including expanding presidential removal authority over independent agencies and upholding state laws barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.
Justice Elena Kagan addressed the perception of the Court as a political tool during a speech at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. When asked whether the Court was “the kind of puppet for the current administration,” Kagan responded, “I think definitely not.” She noted that Trump’s unprecedented attendance at oral arguments in the birthright citizenship case had no influence on the justices’ decisions.
Chief Justice John Roberts has similarly pushed back against the notion that justices follow the agendas of the presidents who appointed them, calling it “absurd.”
Trump himself has publicly criticized the Court over adverse rulings, particularly after the tariff decision, further complicating the narrative of a reliably deferential conservative majority.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,200 adults nationwide by telephone, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
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