Poll shows Trump’s clash with courts puts Senate GOP on defense

New polling of likely voters in Senate battleground states has found that President Trump’s frequent clashes with federal courts are becoming a hot issue that could put Senate Republican candidates on the defensive in 2026.

A poll of 1,000 likely voters in 2026 Senate battlegrounds, obtained exclusively by The Hill, found that 53 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the courts, including 89 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of independents and 39 percent of self-identified non-MAGA Republicans.

The poll was conducted by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic-aligned polling firm, on behalf of Demand Justice, a Democratic-aligned judicial advocacy group.

The survey found that more than two-thirds of voters, 72 percent, said they are concerned about Trump’s response to court orders and 48 percent said they were extremely concerned by what they saw as the president’s refusal to obey court orders.

The poll found that 68 percent of voters surveyed said they viewed congressional Republicans as helping Trump evade legal norms, and 44 percent said they viewed that dynamic as extremely concerning.

It surveyed voters in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas.

The Senate’s two most vulnerable Republican incumbents are Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is the chamber’s most vulnerable Democrat.

“The data is clear: Americans increasingly reject Donald Trump’s attacks on the rule of law and the courts. Over two-thirds are concerned about this blatant disregard for court orders and the threat that it poses to the rights of every person in this country,” said Maggie Jo Buchanan, the interim executive director of Demand Justice.

“When Trump treats judicial rulings as mere suggestions instead of legally binding obligations, it sends a chilling message that our legal protections are meaningless,” Buchanan added.

“An overwhelming majority of Americans across the political spectrum are concerned that this calculated defiance sets a precedent where individuals may face unfair trials, see their rights disregarded without consequence, and find themselves powerless to seek justice,” she added.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia James Boasberg criticized the Trump administration earlier this year for disregarding his order to stop the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.

The administration argued that the deportation flights had already departed the United States at the time Boasberg issued his order and asserted they later complied with a written order.

The Trump White House has also come under criticism for barring a reporter and photographer from The Associated Press from the Oval Office in April despite a court order from U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Trevor McFadden ruling that the government could not retaliate against the news agency for refusing to follow Trump’s order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.   

The poll also found that 70 percent of voters that Trump’s allies in Congress will help him pick judges who will do what he wants instead of acting independently, with 43 percent of respondents saying they’re “extremely” concerned.

The poll's sample included 44 percent of self-identified Democrats, 44 percent of self-identified Republicans and 12 percent of self-identified Democrats. It was conducted between May 28 and June 1 and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.1 percent.