Poll Shows Public Trust and Job Approval for U.S. Supreme Court Near Historic Lows

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is entering its 2026–2027 term with public trust and approval ratings remaining at historically low levels, according to findings from Gallup's annual Governance poll conducted from Sept. 1 to 17.

According to the poll results, 46% of U.S. adults reported having a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government. This marks the fifth consecutive year that institutional trust has remained below 50%, following a period from 1972 through 2020 when trust consistently registered at or above 60% in all but one year. The survey also found that 34% of respondents approve of the court's job performance, while 61% disapprove.

Gallup's data indicates a significant partisan division in public perception. Trust in the judicial branch among Democrats stood at 23%, matching a trend low, while trust among independents was recorded at 42%. By contrast, 79% of Republicans expressed trust in the judicial branch. Regarding job performance, 12% of Democrats and 31% of independents approved of the court, compared to 65% of Republicans.

Perceptions of the court's ideological leaning also showed marked shifts. A plurality of Americans, 43%, described the Supreme Court as "too conservative," tying a previous high. Meanwhile, 35% viewed the court's ideological stance as "about right," a record low in Gallup's tracking since 1993, and 17% described it as "too liberal."

Gallup noted that the decline in overall public trust began following the court's shift to a 6-3 conservative majority in 2021 and dropped further in 2022 following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade.

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