A majority of Americans disapprove of President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump says he doesn’t want NYT in the White House Veterans group backs lawsuits to halt Trump’s use of military funding for border wall Schiff punches back after GOP censure resolution fails MORE’s appointments to the Supreme Court and have little or no confidence that he would pick a suitable candidate to fill any potential future vacancies, according to a new poll from the Marquette University Law School.
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The survey found that 57 percent of U.S. adults polled somewhat or strongly disapprove of the way Trump has handled filling vacancies on the nation’s top court. Forty-three percent said they somewhat or strongly approve of the president’s approach, a figure that is slightly higher than Trump’s overall approval rating of 40 percent in the poll.
Fifty-six percent said they have little or no confidence that Trump would “select the right kind of person to sit on the Supreme Court” if another vacancy were to open up. Thirty-two percent said they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence, and another 13 percent said they have some confidence.
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s record of Supreme Court appointments polls higher among Republicans, with 89 percent of respondents who identify with the GOP saying they strongly or somewhat approve of his approach to filling the court. Eighty percent of respondents who identified as Republican-leaning said the same.
The poll also found widespread disapproval with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump urges GOP to fight for him Senate Dems signal they’ll support domestic spending package Trump’s top picks for Homeland Security chief are ineligible for job: reports MORE‘s (R-Ky.) refusal to consider Merrick GarlandMerrick Brian GarlandMajority disapprove of Trump Supreme Court nominations, says poll Supreme Court can prove its independence — or its partisan capture The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Dems seize on Ukraine transcript in impeachment fight MORE, former President Obama’s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia after his death in early 2016. Seventy-three percent said McConnell’s decision not to hold any confirmation hearings for Garland was the wrong thing to do, while 27 percent said it was the right thing to do.
McConnell argued at the time that it would be improper to hold confirmation hearings just before a presidential election. But if a vacancy opens up in 2020 ahead of the next election and Trump puts forth a nominee, 69 percent of the poll’s respondents said that the Senate should hold hearings, while 31 said it shouldn’t.
Trump later filled Scalia’s seat with Justice Neil GorsuchNeil GorsuchMajority disapprove of Trump Supreme Court nominations, says poll Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to consumer agency Difficult issues involving human sexuality require dialogue, not scorn, misinformation MORE, who was confirmed in 2017.
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The poll also shows that the partisan battle over Justice Brett KavanaughBrett Michael KavanaughMajority disapprove of Trump Supreme Court nominations, says poll These 3 women are defining the race to unseat Trump On The Money: Supreme Court takes up challenge to CFPB | Warren’s surge brings scrutiny to wealth tax | Senators eye curbs on Trump emergency powers MORE’s confirmation last year has had a lasting impact on the public’s perception of the court and Kavanaugh in particular.
Despite being the most junior member of the court, Kavanaugh, who was confirmed in a narrow 50-48 Senate vote last year after being bombarded with accusations of sexual assault, is now only second to Ruth Bader GinsburgRuth Bader GinsburgMajority disapprove of Trump Supreme Court nominations, says poll Buttigieg defends court-packing proposal at Democratic debate Ocasio-Cortez is getting her own action figure MORE in terms of public awareness. Just 42 percent were unable to rate Kavanaugh in terms of favorability, compared to 41 percent for Ginsburg.
He also has the highest unfavorability rating of the nine justices, with 32 percent. Twenty-six percent said they viewed him favorably.
Kavanaugh is one of two justices, along with Gorsuch, that Trump has nominated and seen confirmed to the court.
The survey was conducted Sept. 3-13 and is based on answers from 1,423 adults nationwide. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.
Updated at 1:04 p.m.