Disapproval Rating of Supreme Court Reaches New High

Joshua Gill / October 02, 2015

Disapproval rates of the high court are rising, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll, released Friday, shows a 50-percent disapproval rating of the Supreme Court.              

Underlying the disapproval rating is a wide partisan gap. Most of those who disapprove of the Supreme Court’s performance are Republican, with current Republican approval of the Supreme Court at 26 percent. By contrast, Democrat approval rating of the court is currently 67 percent.

Though the partisan gap has slightly lessened since July, when Republican approval rating of the court was 18 percent and Democrat approval rating was 76 percent, the gap remains significant and reflects the effect of the Supreme Court’s recent rulings on policy issues. With cases like King v. Burwell and Obergefell v. Hodges, among others, the Supreme Court has earned the ire of the Republican Party.

Gallup said the court has “been caught in the middle of divisive policy battles that have largely undermined Republicans’ approval of the institution, while not helping it with political independents.”

Gallup also noted that the Republican approval rating of the court could change dramatically depending on future rulings on policy.

This is just one in a recent slew of polls that show the American people’s disapproval of the government. The polls have determined that many Americans believe there is widespread government corruption, do not approve of how business is being regulated, and think the government threatens personal liberty.