
Supreme Court gains confidence as power concerns climb
The big picture: The confidence boost is notable because Americans increasingly thinkthat the Supreme Court has too much power, a trend likely to grow as the justices continue to take on cases that Americans are deeply divided on.
Driving the news: The poll found that 67% of adults now have at least some confidence in the high court, up from 56% in a poll conducted shortly after the reproductive rights ruling.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents think the court has too much power, a significant jump from 29% in April.
Zoom in: The number of people who think the Supreme Court has too much power varies sharply depending on political affiliation.
Fifty-six percent of Democrats think the court has too much power, up from 34% in April.
Twenty percent of Republicans agree, which is roughly unchanged from the results taken in April.
Republicans are almost two times more likely than Democrats to say that federal judges are too powerful (50% vs. 24%) which suggests an increased distrust towards the lower courts.
Between the lines: The court's 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices that President Trump appointed, has ruled in Trump's favor in a slew of high-profile wins for conservatives.
The court handed down a ruling in June that effectively weakens the judicial branches overall power.
In that case, Trump v. CASA, Inc., the justices determined that federal district judges do not have the ability to block laws throughout the United States, a policy known as an universal injunction.

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Business Insider
8 minutes ago
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24 minutes ago
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Whatley led the state Republican Party for almost five years before being elected Republican National Committee chairman 17 months ago with Trump's backing. He seeks to succeed GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who barely a month ago announced that he would not run for a third term after clashing with Trump. Whatley's plan to run became public a week ago, after which Trump said on social media that Whatley would 'make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina' and that he would have 'my Complete and Total Endorsement." Whatley got in the race after Lara Trump — the president's daughter-in-law, a former RNC co-chair with Whatley and a North Carolina native — passed on her own bid. The Democratic side of the race took shape earlier this week as Cooper, a former two-term governor, announced Monday that he would run. The next day ex-U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel ended his campaign and endorsed Cooper. Cooper's entry brings optimism to a party aiming to take back the Senate in 2026 with a net gain of four seats — a tall task in a year when many Senate races are in states Trump won easily in 2024. National Republican campaign strategists say that Cooper's entry makes North Carolina a more difficult seat for the party to hold, though a Democrat hasn't won a Senate race in usually competitive North Carolina since 2008. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott endorsed Whatley immediately. At least two lesser-known Republican candidates are seeking the GOP nomination. Candidate filing begins in December, with any primaries held in March. But Whatley spent his launch speech targeting Cooper, accusing him of 'offering North Carolina voters an extreme radical-left ideology -- open borders, inflationary spending and a weak America.' 'I believe in a better North Carolina and a stronger America," he added. Trump, who narrowly won North Carolina's electoral votes all three times that he ran for president, also supported Whatley to replace national party chair Ronna McDaniel early last year. Whatley joked in April to an Iowa audience that Trump was so pleased with his work as chair that he offered Whatley any job that he wanted in Trump's administration, as long as he stayed on as chair. But with his campaign bid, Whatley will leave the chairman's post. RNC members are expected to vote on his successor next month in Atlanta. Trump has endorsed Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, a former Florida Republican Party chairman who is now the RNC's treasurer and was co-chair of Trump's 2016 campaign in Florida. While never elected to government office and without a voting record, Whatley has promoted the president's agenda and led the party apparatus that helped him get elected in 2024. So he'll be asked repeatedly to defend a host of Trump initiatives. Whatley, 56, grew up in the western North Carolina mountains. His first major foray into politics came in high school when he volunteered for the 1984 reelection campaign of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. He earned law and theology degrees from the University of Notre Dame. Whatley was on a team of lawyers working on George W. Bush's behalf to dispute the outcome of the 2000 presidential contest. He landed a job in Bush's administration with the Department of Energy, followed by a two-year stint working for then-North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole. He later lobbied for oil and gas companies. Whatley spent time during Thursday's speech highlighting what he considers Trump's many accomplishments, including recent Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in the state and a remake of the Republican Party. But Whatley also will have to defend portions of Trump's new law that includes pulling back on Medicaid, which North Carolina officials say threatens expansion coverage for hundreds of thousands of people. It was Cooper who reached a bipartisan agreement with state Republicans in 2023 to offer Medicaid expansion. Cooper's campaign criticized Whatley as 'a D.C. insider and big oil lobbyist who supports policies that are ripping health care away from North Carolinians and raising costs for middle class families.' In a news release, Cooper campaign manager Jeff Allen added that Cooper has a "record of putting partisanship aside to get results for North Carolina.' At the close of his tenure as state chairman, Whatley highlighted his efforts to encourage early voting and protect 'election integrity,' as well as online fundraising and volunteer training. He cited electoral victories for Republicans on North Carolina's appeals courts and within the General Assembly. But Democrats continued to control the governor's mansion, as Cooper won a second term in 2020.