Supreme Court Approval Is at Record Lows. Does It Matter?

01 A Court Without Accountability

The Supreme Court is the only branch of government where the officials serve for life, have no code of ethics, and can't be removed by any mechanism short of impeachment (which has never successfully removed a Justice). When approval drops in Congress or the presidency, voters can respond. When it drops at the Court, there's no mechanism for accountability.

02 The Legitimacy Question

Political scientists distinguish between two types of legitimacy: 'specific' (approval of particular decisions) and 'diffuse' (belief that the institution itself is legitimate). For most of American history, diffuse legitimacy was high even when specific approval dropped. That's changing. In 2025, for the first time, a majority of Americans said the Court is 'motivated by politics' rather than 'motivated by law.'

03 Can a Court Lose Its Authority?

The Court has no army and no budget. Its power rests entirely on the other branches' willingness to comply. Andrew Jackson allegedly said 'John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.' Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Court. Neither succeeded, but both showed the limits of judicial power. If approval drops below 30% and stays there, the question becomes whether future presidents will feel politically able to ignore rulings they disagree with.