Gallup: Supreme Court job approval hits new low

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 23. Forty percent of U.S. residents said they approve of the job the court is doing, according to Gallup. File Photo by Erin Schaff/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Approval of the U.S. Supreme Court fell to 40%, a new low for the nation's highest court, according to a Gallup report released Thursday.

The fall, which shattered the old record of 42% in 2005, was off from the approval rating of 49% in July, Gallup said.

The court has ruled on several politically divisive issues. Among them, the court declined to step in and block a controversial Texas abortion law, allowed colleges to issue vaccine mandates and denied the Biden administration a chance to extend a federal moratorium on evictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey was conducted by telephone interviews from Sept. 1-17 with 1,005 adults with a margin of error of 4%.

"Americans' opinions of the Supreme Court are now the worst Gallup has measured in its polling on the institution over the past two-plus decades," Gallup said. "At this point, less than a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents approve of the job the court is doing. Barely half of Democrats and independents are confident in it, while confidence is slightly higher among Republicans."

In an unusual, twist, despite former President Donald Trump appointing three members to the current court, confidence in the court for Republicans dropped significantly from September 2020 (82%) to September 2021 (61%).

Fifty percent of Democrats and 51% of independents said they have confidence in the court.