Supreme Court approval rating tanks as Biden weighs Breyer replacement

Americans' disapproval of the Supreme Court has been rising, with 44% now having an unfavorable opinion, according to new survey results from Pew Research Center.

Why it matters: The shift comes as President Biden weighs a replacement for Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement last week, and following partisan fights about the seatings of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

• The percentage of Americans who view the court favorably has fallen from 69% in August 2019 to 54% last month.

By the numbers: SCOTUS favorability plummeted among Democrats and Democratic-leaners in recent years — understandably, as former President Trump named three conservative judges to the bench: Kavanaugh, Barrett and Neil Gorsuch.

• Democrats are now more likely to view the Supreme Court unfavorably than favorably, according to the polling.
• But Republican discontent has been on the rise, too.
• More than one-in-three of American adults who are or lean Republican said they view the high court unfavorably — up from just 14% in August 2019.