According to a new Gallup poll, the Supreme Court has fallen to the lowest point in four years in approval despite a term marked by a long list of unanimous and non-ideological decisions. In perhaps the best evidence that the Court is getting it right, all sides seem equally frustrated with the Court.
The Court’s approval ratings dipped slightly below 50 percent for the first time since 2017. Some 49 percent approved of the job the justices are doing–down from 58% a year ago. What is notable is that both Democrats and Republicans appear equally annoyed by the Court. Both Democrats and Republicans show a majority still favoring the Court at 51 percent. The independents drag the approval rate below 50% with a 46% approval rate.
There was a decline of 9 points among Republicans, 11 points among independents and five points among Democrats.
Of course, that is still far better than Congress with an approval rate of 35 percent.
The roughly 50 percent still favoring the Court is remarkable after the unrelenting attacks in the media, including the ongoing campaign for court packing and fundamental changes to the institution.
The Court itself seems unfazed. It continues to speak through its decisions and released a series of unanimous and sharply non-ideological decisions. It is precisely what the Framers hoped for in creating lifetime tenure to insulate judges and justices from the pressures of politics.