The new survey suggests public frustration with the court is no longer coming only from Democrats. A sharp Republican decline is reshaping how the institution’s standing looks after its latest term.
Gallup says the Supreme Court’s job approval has hit a record low in 2026: 33% of Americans approve, while 61% disapprove. The poll measured approval and disapproval, down from 39% approval in July 2025 and above 52% disapproval last September. The historical context is blunt: Gallup’s trend had already seen earlier lows around 40% in September 2021 and 43% in later surveys, but the new slide is powered largely by shifting Republican views, with Democrats and independents still cool toward the court.
That matters now because the Supreme Court is coming off a term that gave President Donald Trump and conservatives some major victories while also blocking several high-profile administration moves. Gallup’s finding suggests the court’s public problem has widened from partisan distrust into a broader legitimacy squeeze.
The new low is measurable
The top-line number is stark: only one-third of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing. Gallup said 33% approval is the lowest point in the 26 years it has tracked the court’s job approval.
Disapproval also reached a high point in the trend. Gallup put it at 61%, up from 52% in its previous September reading. That means the court is not merely losing enthusiastic support; a clear majority now says it disapproves of the institution’s work.
The shift is especially notable because the court’s approval had already been weak. Gallup said 39% approval in July 2025 was the prior low. Earlier readings such as 40% in September 2021 and 43% in later low points had already signaled a deep break from the court’s historically stronger standing.
Gallup’s latest survey was conducted by telephone from July 1 through 19 among 1,200 adults. The margin of sampling error was 4 percentage points, so small changes should be read carefully. A six-point drop from the prior low, though, is large enough to land as a clear warning sign.
Republicans drove the latest drop
The most important movement in the poll came from Republicans. Gallup said Republican approval of the Supreme Court fell to 58%, down from a near-record 79% in the previous September measurement.
That is a major change for a court with a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed during Trump’s first term. For years, Democratic frustration has been the easier story to tell. The new poll points to a more complicated one: conservatives are not uniformly satisfied with the court’s performance either.
Gallup’s own explanation was cautious. It said the Republican drop may reflect rulings unfavorable to the Trump administration weighing more heavily than decisions that helped Trump and the GOP.
Democrats and independents did not move much, according to the poll. Just 12% of Democrats approved of the court’s work, while 35% of independents approved. In other words, the floor remains extremely low on the left, but the newest damage appears to come from the right.
Recent rulings cut both ways
The term gave different political camps reasons to cheer and reasons to complain. That mix is part of what makes the approval drop interesting.
According to Gallup’s analysis, Republican discontent may be linked to decisions that went against Trump administration positions. CNBC reported that the court said Trump could not impose broad tariffs on imports from most countries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The court also voided a Trump executive order that would have sharply restricted birthright citizenship.
The court also rejected Trump’s bid to summarily fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while litigation over her termination continued. Those decisions landed in areas where the administration had sought sweeping executive authority.
At the same time, Trump and his administration recorded significant wins. One major victory allowed a president to fire members of certain independent government agencies. That split record helps explain why a conservative court can still disappoint conservative voters who expected more consistent support for the president’s agenda.
Democrats remain deeply alienated
The Republican movement may be the new headline, but Democratic distrust is still central to the court’s public standing. Gallup said Democratic ratings over the past five years, a period when the court has held its 6-3 conservative majority, rank among the lowest for any party group in the organization’s trend.
That long-running alienation did not start with this term. It reflects years of intense fights over abortion, administrative power, election law, gun rights, presidential authority and the confirmation battles that shaped the court’s current composition.
The current poll shows those feelings have not softened. A 12% Democratic approval rating leaves little room for further decline. That helps explain why the overall number can fall so sharply when Republican support drops: one side was already near bottom, and the other side suddenly became less enthusiastic.
Independents sit between the parties, but their 35% approval is hardly a sign of confidence. For an institution that depends on public acceptance of its rulings, skepticism among independents may be as important as partisan anger.
Why the numbers matter
The Supreme Court does not run for election, and justices do not need approval ratings to keep their seats. That is by design. The court is supposed to decide cases according to law, not popularity.
Still, public trust matters because the court has no army, no police force and no direct power to appropriate money. Its authority rests heavily on the public and other branches of government accepting its decisions as legitimate, even when they disagree with the outcome.
A record-low approval rating does not mean the court will change course. Justices often say they are not swayed by polls. But sustained distrust can shape the political environment around the court, including calls for ethics rules, term limits, jurisdiction changes or other structural reforms.
Low approval can also change how politicians talk about the court. Democrats have spent years criticizing the conservative majority. If Republican dissatisfaction grows, the court may find itself with fewer reliable defenders when controversial decisions land.
The poll has limits
Gallup’s survey is a snapshot, not a diagnosis. It can show that approval fell and which groups moved, but it cannot prove exactly why each respondent answered the way they did.
The timing matters. Gallup typically polls in July after the court’s term ends and again in September before the next term begins. A July survey may capture fresh reaction to decisions that received heavy coverage in the final weeks of the term.
The margin of error also matters when comparing smaller shifts. But the overall pattern is hard to dismiss: 33% approval, 61% disapproval, and a steep Republican decline from 79% to 58%.
The next question is whether this is a temporary reaction to a specific set of cases or a more durable change in how Americans view the court. If Republican approval rebounds, the record low may look like a term-specific backlash. If it does not, the court’s public standing may be entering a new phase.
What to watch next
The next Gallup reading will help show whether the summer decline sticks. September polling could reveal whether Republican frustration cools once the term fades from the news, or whether doubts about the court harden before the justices return to the bench in October.
Watch also for how elected officials frame the court. A conservative majority that frustrates conservatives on executive-power cases while remaining deeply unpopular with Democrats occupies an unusual political position.
The clean takeaway is that the Supreme Court’s approval problem is no longer only about one party’s anger. Gallup’s record-low number shows a court facing disapproval from most Americans, persistent hostility from Democrats, weak support from independents and a sudden loss of altitude among Republicans.
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