Poll: Supreme Court heads into new term with historically low ratings

The Supreme Court is heading into its 2026-2027 term with only about one-third of Americans approving of its job performance and trust in the federal judicial branch at its lowest level in Gallup’s polling history.

Gallup’s annual Governance poll, conducted Sept. 1-17 among 1,000 U.S. adults, found that 34% approve of the court’s performance, essentially unchanged from the record low 33% Gallup measured in July. Sixty-one percent disapprove, also unchanged from July.

The court’s approval rating remains well below its historical highs. Before 2026, it had fallen below 40% only once since Gallup began measuring it in 2000, when it hit 39% in July 2025. Approval peaked at 62% in 2000 and 2001.

The findings showed substantial partisan differences. While 65% of Republicans approved of the court’s performance, 31% of independents and 12% of Democrats said the same. Independents’ approval is at its lowest level in Gallup’s trend, while Democrats’ rating is just above their record low of 11%. Republican approval has also declined over the past year, falling from 79% in September 2025 to 65% in the latest survey.

>> ANALYSIS | Part I: Understanding the most interesting cases on the Supreme Court’s docket <<

In a separate question, 46% of Americans said they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the federal judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court, the lowest reading since Gallup began tracking that measure in 1972. Twelve percent expressed a great deal of trust and 34% a fair amount. Another 30% said they have not very much trust, while 24% said they have none at all.

This is the fifth consecutive year that fewer than half of Americans have expressed a great deal or fair amount of trust in the judicial branch. Before 2022, that figure had never fallen below 50%.

Trust declined from 67% in 2020 to 54% in 2021, following the court’s shift to a 6-3 conservative majority. It fell below 50% in 2022 after the court’s Dobbs ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. 

Gallup attributed much of the overall decline to falling trust among Democrats and independents. Trust among Democrats fell from 58% in 2020 to 23% in the latest survey, while independents’ trust dropped from 63% to 42%. Among Republicans, 79% currently express a great deal or fair amount of trust in the judicial branch. 

Americans also remain divided over the court’s ideological direction. Forty-three percent describe it as “too conservative,” matching last year’s record high, while 35% say it is “about right,” a record low. Seventeen percent consider it “too liberal.”

Gallup noted in its report that as the Supreme Court’s public standing has weakened, some of the justices have tried to “assure the public that the court is not a political institution,” but “Americans do not seem to be persuaded.” 

>> ANALYSIS | Part II: Understanding the most interesting cases on the Supreme Court’s docket <<