When the Senate plays politics with Supreme Court vacancies this hurts the public’s perceptions of the Court

The recent US Senate confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court has shown how politicized such hearings have become. But how do these more contentious hearings influence how the American public thinks about the Supreme Court itself? In new survey research, Miles T. Armaly and Elizabeth A. Lane examine reactions to the US Senate’s approach to filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat. They find that respondents who were told about the politicization of a past vacancy were less likely to express support for the Supreme Court and to favor reforms which would reduce its power.