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Supreme Court Faces Low Approval Ratings as New Term Begins
Developing
In Short: The Supreme Court's approval ratings are low, but experts say this reflects polarization rather than a broader crisis of legitimacy.
As the Supreme Court prepares to start its new term, it faces a significant polling challenge, with only 47% of Americans approving of the Court, according to a Marquette Law School survey.
The Court's approval ratings have dropped sharply among Republicans, falling from 79% in September 2025 to 58% now, while Democratic approval remains at 12% and independent approval at 35%, both near historic lows.
The partisan gap in Court approval has widened, averaging 32 points since 2010, compared to an average of 18 points from 2000 to 2010.
Among very conservative Republicans, approval of the Court reaches 84%, while among very liberal Democrats, it’s just 5%.
Despite these low approval ratings, the Supreme Court has made several decisions that align with a small-c conservative approach, including rejecting Trump’s tariffs, blocking Cook’s removal, and allowing late-arriving ballots to be counted.
The Court’s majority commonly uses originalist and textualist methods, which strengthen presidential control over the executive branch but still leave the president constrained by statutes, Congress, courts, and the Constitution.
For advocates of Supreme Court 'reform,' the temptation is clear: low approval ratings suggest the institution has lost legitimacy and needs structural repair.
However, experts argue that the decline in approval ratings is more indicative of political polarization than a broader crisis of legitimacy.
What's still developing
- The Supreme Court itself stands at 27% — the national average — compared with 17% for the criminal justice system, 14% for television news, and 9% for Congress.
- Yet the same Court rejected Trump’s tariffs, kept the National Guard from being deployed in Chicago, allowed late-arriving ballots to be counted, blocked Cook’s removal, and rejected Trump’s effort to narrow birthright citizenship.
- Marquette finds the same phenomenon from another angle: 74% of Republicans approve of the Court, compared with 35% of independents and 22% of Democrats.