Supreme Court’s Public Approval Declines Following Divisive Tariff Ruling

Supreme Court Approval Drops to 42%, Poll Reveals Deep Partisan Divide

Key Takeaways:

• A recent Marquette Law School Poll indicates Supreme Court approval has fallen to 42% as of April.
• Public opinion regarding the Court’s ruling on Trump-era tariffs is sharply divided along party lines.
• A majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court is actively avoiding direct confrontations with former President Trump.
• Public awareness of Supreme Court decisions remains consistently low.

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A new national survey from the Marquette Law School Poll reveals significant partisan divisions on key Supreme Court cases, alongside a continuing decline in the Court’s overall approval rating.

The poll, released on Thursday, showed that 66% of respondents supported the Court’s February 20th ruling which determined that President Trump lacked the authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). However, 33% opposed the decision. This support is far from universal, with stark differences emerging based on political affiliation. Specifically, 61% of Republicans opposed the ruling, while it was favored by 71% of Independents and a substantial 92% of Democrats.

Notably, opinions on the ruling were heavily influenced by pre-existing views on Trump’s handling of tariffs. 76% of those who approve of Trump’s tariff policies opposed the Court’s decision, while only 11% of those who disapprove opposed it.

The ruling, which challenged a significant Trump administration policy, has done little to dispel the perception that the Court is deliberately avoiding rulings that might be disregarded by the former President. In April, 57% of respondents stated they believe the Court is avoiding such confrontations – a figure unchanged since January. While a majority of Republicans (67%) disagree, believing the Court is not avoiding rulings against Trump, majorities of Independents (66%) and Democrats (79%) hold the opposite view.

Overall, the Court’s approval rating continues its downward trend. It currently stands at 42% in April, down from 44% in January. Approval among Republicans has also decreased, falling from 78% in January to 70% in April. Slight improvements were observed among Independents (from 26% to 29%) and Democrats (from 17% to 19%) during the same period.

Since Trump’s return to office, the Court’s approval has steadily declined from a high of 54% in March 2025. The Court’s lowest recorded approval rating in Marquette Law School polling was 38% in July 2022, immediately following the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal abortion rights protections. Its highest approval rating was 66% in September 2020.

Public engagement with news about the Supreme Court remains limited. In April, only 35% of respondents reported hearing or reading “a lot” about the February tariff ruling, while 52% had heard “a little” and 13% had heard nothing at all.

Generally, 26% of those surveyed said they had followed news about the Court “a lot” in the past month, with 61% following “a little” and 13% following “not at all.”

Attention to the Court typically increases around the end of its term in June, when major decisions are announced. Combined surveys conducted in July 2024 and 2025, shortly after the Court’s term concluded, showed 33% had heard “a lot” about the Court, compared to 23% in other months.

The national survey was conducted between April 8-16, 2024, and included 982 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.