The Marquette Law School Poll, directed by Charles Franklin, measures national opinion about the Supreme Court and the outcomes of pending cases. Polling conducted in April and May examined public views of six significant cases before the court decided them late in the term, along with an earlier tariffs ruling measured after the decision.

The results showed that the public agreed with the court in four of the six late-term cases: birthright citizenship, late-arriving ballots, the removal of a Federal Reserve governor, and state laws limiting the participation of transgender athletes in school sports. The public also agreed with the outcome in the earlier tariffs case. Disagreement was strongest over the removal of heads of independent agencies and political-party coordination with candidates’ campaigns.

Results varied by case and party

In Trump v. Barbara, 68% of adults agreed with the outcome in which the court struck President Donald Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship. In Trump v. Cook, 66% agreed with the court’s decision preventing the president from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 66% agreed with the ruling striking Trump’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Agreement was 63% in West Virginia v. B.P.J./Little v. Hecox, and 56% in Watson v. Republican National Committee.

  • In Trump v. Slaughter, 27% agreed that the president may remove the heads of independent agencies.
  • In National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, 26% agreed that restrictions on coordinated campaign spending violated the First Amendment.

Partisan differences were substantial in most cases involving the Trump administration. For Trump v. Cook, 92% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans agreed with the outcome. In Learning Resources, agreement was 92% among Democrats and 39% among Republicans. In Trump v. Slaughter, 46% of Republicans agreed with the outcome, compared with 7% of Democrats. The campaign-finance case showed a smaller partisan difference: 25% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats agreed.

The poll also found differing overall views of the court. In May, 76% of Republicans approved of the way the Supreme Court was handling its job, compared with 20% of Democrats and 39% of independents. Among all adults, 46% approved and 54% disapproved. The survey material states that the public generally evaluates case outcomes through media descriptions and partisan perspectives rather than by studying briefs, decisions, and legal reasoning. The court ended the October Term 2025 with public agreement on four of six late decisions, plus majority agreement on the earlier tariffs case; whether approval changes after those decisions will be measured in a subsequent survey.