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GOP Approval of Supreme Court Surges, Democrats' Slides.

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Byline: Justin McCarthy

Synopsis: In the past year, Republicans' job approval rating of the Supreme Court has surged from 26% to 65%, while Democrats' rating has plummeted from 67% to 40%.

This story is part of a series focusing on Americans' confidence in various types of government and their views of the political parties and of the role and power of government. Follow the series on our Government topic page.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the past year, Republicans' job approval rating of the Supreme Court has surged while Democrats' rating has plummeted. Sixty-five percent of Republicans now approve of the Supreme Court, up from 26% last year. Meanwhile, Democrats' approval has fallen from 67% in 2016 to 40%.

The latest data, collected in a Sept. 6-10 Gallup poll, come as the Supreme Court prepares for its new term next week.

Since Gallup's previous poll on approval of the judicial branch a year ago, Republican President Donald Trump was elected, and his nominee to the court, Neil Gorsuch, was confirmed. Gorsuch has established a conservative role for himself in his early months as a justice, and Trump's presidency means it's likely a Republican president will be in place to appoint at least one more justice in the years ahead, given the age of several current members.

Both major political parties' views of the court have varied drastically over Gallup's trend since 2000. The ups and downs in the trend appear to reflect changes in political power as well as decisions made by the court itself.

Republicans' approval of the court since 2000 has varied more widely than has Democrats' approval. Republicans offered a record-high 80% approval rating of the court shortly after the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, which made George W. Bush president. The GOP hit a low in approval of the court, at 18% in 2015, after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide and rejected a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The GOP's current approval of the Supreme Court is its highest since September 2008, the last reading under a Republican president.

Democrats' ratings of the Supreme Court were...

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