The vast majority of Republicans believe President Donald Trump cannot defy orders from the U.S. Supreme Court but nearly one in three said they don’t think the president needs to heed lower court rulings, according to the latest poll from the Pew Research Center.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has faced criticism and accusations of not obeying a Supreme Court order in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was deported to El Salvador who had not been convicted of a crime.
The Supreme Court earlier in April upheld a lower court order that Trump should “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., but the administration has not yet complied. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that the administration interpreted the ruling as meaning they would only need to facilitate his return if El Salvador wants to return him.
The president has found himself at odds with courts on a number of other matters as judges have blocked parts of his agenda surrounding the firings of federal workers and efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
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What To Know
A Pew Research poll of 3,589 adults, conducted from April 7 to April 13 found that a majority of Americans would side with the Supreme Court over Trump in constitutional matters.
“Relatively small shares in both parties say the administration would be free to continue an action ruled illegal by the Supreme Court,” the poll report reads.
A total of 88 percent of Americans believe Trump must follow Supreme Court rulings, while only 9 percent said he does not have to do so.
Among Republicans, 82 percent believe Trump must follow Supreme Court rulings, with 14 percent saying he does not have to do so. More Republicans said Trump doesn’t have to follow orders from a lower court. Although 65 percent said he would have to follow those orders as well, 31 percent said he could defy those rulings.
In total, 19 percent of Americans said he doesn’t have to follow lower court orders, while 78 percent said they think the president must follow all court rulings, according to the poll.
The poll broadly found Trump’s approval rating slipping among all key voter groups about three months into his second term in office.
Grant Davis Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek on Thursday he can’t imagine Trump would openly defy a “clear” order from the court, but there could be “some issue open to some interpretation, however obscure or remote, and a round of political conversations about that.”
If Trump were to defy a clear Supreme Court order, Reeher believes that could cause many in the public and in Congress to turn on him and possibly support impeachment
“Granted, there’s not a lot of evidence in Congress for that right now, but given that 10 Republicans voted for the second impeachment in 2021, I think you’d see more doing so if something like this were to happen,” he said. “But I don’t think Trump is that dumb politically.”
What People Are Saying
Trump, on Truth Social Monday: “I’m doing what I was elected to do, remove criminals from our Country, but the Courts don’t seem to want me to do that.”
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, in March remarks at Georgetown Law Center: “More than ever, we have to get up and explain and repeat and explain again why judicial independence is critical to everyone’s freedom, because arbitrary power is just that, and it means that anyone is going to be subject to unfairness at someone else’s whim.”
What Happens Next
Various legal battles over parts of Trump’s agenda will likely continue to play out over the coming weeks and months.