OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
After reporting that the U.S. Supreme Court’s approval rating has dropped to one of its lowest points in recent years, a poll has found that one justice, in particular, has a strong approval rating.
A Gallup poll found that Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts is the most approved leader on the nation’s highest court.
“The poll found that 60% of U.S. adults approve of the job Roberts is doing, while just 34% disapprove. Two other government leaders with positive net approval ratings were Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Powell received a 53% approval rating with a 40% disapproval. Fauci received a 52% approval rating, with 47% disapproval,” The Daily Wire reported.
“Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had the highest approval rating of Congressional leaders, with 46% approval, but was still underwater in terms of net rating, with 49% disapproval. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had 44% approval, compared with 53% disapproval. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received a paltry 40% approval rating, with 58% disapproval. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had the least approval rating of the group, and the lowest approval rating overall, with just 34% approval and 63% disapproval,” The Daily Wire added.
Gallup reported:
Roberts is the only one of the leaders rated this year who receives majority approval from Republicans (57%) and Democrats (55%) in addition to political independents (64%). Most of the other leaders are viewed positively by two-thirds or more of one party versus less than a quarter of the other.
A key exception is McConnell, whose performance is approved of by less than half of Republicans (46%). At the same time, he receives the lowest ratings of the 11 from Democrats (21%) and independents (35%). Strikingly, majorities of all three groups disapprove of McConnell: 75% of Democrats, 64% of independents, and 52% of Republicans.
The Senate Republican leader’s counterpart in the House of Representatives, McCarthy, sparks a more typical partisan reaction, with 71% of Republicans, 48% of independents and 23% of Democrats approving of his performance.
“The White House did not fare much better. President Joe Biden’s approval rating was just 43%, with 51% disapproval, while Vice President Kamala Harris received a 44% approval rating and a 54% disapproval rating. Gallup reported that Harris has seen a 5-point drop in approval since September, from 49% to 44%, and an equivalent increase in disapproval, from 49% to 54%. Biden’s approval rating has remained at 43% in that time frame, Gallup noted,” the Daily Wire report added.
The Gallup poll comes after a previous Gallup poll found that the Supreme Court’s approval rating has dipped down to one of its lowest points in recent years.
A Gallup poll found that Americans’ opinions of the Supreme Court have plummeted to 40%, down from 49% in July.
At the same time last year, a whopping 58% of Americans approved of the Supreme Court.
The poll comes after the conservative-majority Court issued favorable rulings to Republicans on cases involving abortion, immigration, and evictions — and liberals are not happy about it.
“Not since Bush v. Gore has the public perception of the court’s legitimacy seemed so seriously threatened,” Irv Gornstein, executive director of the Georgetown Supreme Court Institute, said.
Steve Schwinn, a professor of law at the University of Illinois Chicago, said: “Today’s opinions were just raw six-three divisions on the court where the conservative supermajority really exercised its power and muscle.”
John Malcolm, a legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, said liberals fear a “radical transformation” of the Supreme Court as it moves more conservative.
“The liberal wing of the court can still prevail, but they now have to attract two justices rather than one,” Malcolm said. “And they certainly proved their ability to do that on more than one occasion in very significant cases.”
