Trust in judicial branch at record low; executive branch near Watergate-era

The American public’s trust in the federal judicial and executive branches has dropped steeply, with faith in the judicial branch reaching a record low point, according to a new Gallup survey.

About 47 percent of Americans now say they trust the judicial branch, which consists of the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courthouses.

That’s down from 67 percent in 2020 and an all-time high of 80 percent in 1999 in Gallup’s polling.

The drop in faith for the judicial branch comes after approval of the Supreme Court plummeted after its conservative majority overturned the constitutional right to abortion, loosened environmental laws and expanded gun rights.

Republicans are more likely to have trust in the judicial branch than Democrats, Gallup noted, 67 to 25 percent.

Faith in the White House and the federal government’s agencies, meanwhile, has dropped to 43 percent, close to the 40 percent level reached during the Watergate scandal under then-President Richard Nixon in the ’70s.

Only 7 percent of Republicans now have faith in the executive branch while 86 percent of Democrats do.

Trust in the federal legislative branch also hovers around historically low levels in the new survey, with just 38 percent of Americans reporting they have faith in Congress.

The legislative branch has consistently polled the lowest among the public.

The new Gallup poll comes amid increasing polarization across the country, with tensions soaring over cultural issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, abortion and the border.

Meanwhile, both Republicans and Democrats are increasingly likely to blame voter fraud if elections don’t turn out favorably.

The Gallup poll was conducted Sept. 1 to Sept. 16 among 812 adults. Its margin of error is 4 percentage points.