Americans split on party lines over support for Supreme Court: Survey

Americans are split along party lines over their support for the Supreme Court, with the majority of Republicans approving of its actions, according to a Friday survey. 

The new YouGov poll found that 45 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat disapprove of the Supreme Court’s work, while 40 percent said they strongly or somewhat approve. Some 14 percent were unsure. 

The majority of GOP voters, 73 percent, strongly or somewhat approve of the Supreme Court's handling of recent cases, far higher than 34 percent of independents and just 14 percent of Democrats. 

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had the highest net favorability rating on the court’s bench with plus 4 percentage points. Ketanji Brown Jackson had a plus 2 percentage point rating.

The poll found that Democratic Party voters view Sotomayor the most favorably, while they see Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh as the most unfavorable. Among Republicans, Kavanaugh and Thomas were seen as the most favorable, while Brown Jackson and Sotomayor were viewed the least favorably. 

Around a quarter, 26 percent, of respondents said the Supreme Court has too much power, a decrease from last year when 42 percent of Americans said the same thing.

The sentiment has dropped the most among Democrats, going from 73 percent in 2024 to 41 percent this year. About 22 percent of independents said the nation’s highest court has too much power, a 16-point decrease from a year ago when it was 38 percent. 

Most respondents, 55 percent, said the Supreme Court has the right amount of power. 

A recent poll from AP-NORC Research Center found Americans’ confidence in the Supreme Court has increased slightly, but that around one-in-three adults are still wary of the country’s highest court. 

The Supreme Court’s approval was at 51 percent among Americans in February, according to a Marquette Law School national poll. The other 49 percent disapproved. 

Friday's survey was conducted between June 30 and July 2 among 1,043 U.S. adults. The margin of error was around 4 percentage points.