Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Republicans and Democrats continue to have diverging views about the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new national poll released this week.
The findings come at the end of another consequential term for the nation's top court, in which the majority of justices overturned a decades-old precedent to weaken federal regulators, upheld laws aimed at preventing homeless people from sleeping in public parks, and ruled that ex-presidents have criminal immunity for official acts.
Many of the high-profile cases were decided along ideological lines, with the six justices appointed by Republican presidents outvoting the three justices appointed by Democrats. Republican politicians widely celebrated the court's ruling overturning the Chevron doctrine — which allowed federal agencies to interpret unclear legislation — as a long sought-after win for conservatives.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said "presidential immunity is an indispensable component" of the separation of powers.
Democrats, meanwhile, had asked the court to leave the Chevron decision in place, and decried the presidential immunity ruling as a potential threat to democracy.
Partisans appear to reflect the sentiments of leading politicians when it comes to approval of the court, according to a recent Economist/YouGov poll, which found a growing divide in public opinion of the Supreme Court based on party identification. The poll of 1,608 U.S. citizens was conducted between June 30 and July 2 and found that only 23% of Democrats approve of the current court, compared to 60% of Republicans.
Sixty-four percent of Democrats disapprove of the court, compared to 29% of Republicans. A majority of independents, 56%, also disapprove of the court.
Those findings continue a trend dating back to 2021 showing a decline in approval among Democrats and a general increase in approval with Republicans. The court's overall approval rating is underwater, with 36% of Americans in approval, 50% who disapprove and 14% who are not sure.
The poll also found a split in how Americans view the ideology of the Supreme Court. While nearly 60% of self-identified Democrats described the court's viewpoint as "conservative," only a third of Republicans felt the same way. Overall, about 10% of respondents said they believe the court has a "liberal" viewpoint.
Trust in the court overall has declined in recent years. In 1972, 17% of Americans had a "great deal" of trust in the court and only 7% had "none at all," according to Gallup. As of 2023, fewer than 10% had a "great deal" of trust and 19% had "none at all."
The Supreme Court isn't alone in declining trust — Gallup notes that big business, media, public schools, police, Congress, organized religion, the presidency and the criminal justice system have all hit record lows in confidence in recent years — but the court suffered one of the largest drops in confidence in 2022.
YouGov also asked respondents whether courts should defer to administrative agencies when interpreting unclear laws, in light of the Chevron ruling. Americans were nearly evenly split on the question, with 51% of respondents favoring deferring to agencies and 49% saying the courts should not.
Democrats were more likely to favor administrative agencies' opinions, 69%, while 65% of Republicans said agencies should not be deferred to.
YouGov did not poll on the immunity ruling, as pollsters were in the field before the ruling was released Monday.
