Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Osha Vaccination

Investigations Committee Releases COVID Vaccine Adverse Effects Report, Research Debated across Party Lines

Silver sign of Department of Justice on a classical concrete wall with plants as foreground.

The Ku Klux Klan Returns to Power

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

Highschoolers in a classroom, sitting down at their desks and raising their hands.

My School Is So Worried I Will Cheat With AI It Isn’t Teaching

With abortion decision looming, trust in Supreme Court hits new low

With abortion decision looming, trust in Supreme Court hits new low

Law enforcement personnel guard the front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court is set to announce a number of high-profile decisions before the end of June.

Nathan Howard/Getty Images
David Meyers
By David MeyersJun 14, 2022
David Meyers

David Meyers is the Executive Editor of The Fulcrum. Before launching The Fulcrum, David spent more than two decades at CQ Roll Call, a leading publisher of political news and information. During his time there, David served as managing editor of Roll Call (“the newspaper of Capitol Hill”) and as managing editor of member information and research, which included co-editing the definitive biographical directory of Congress, “Politics in America.” David went on to lead all of CQ Roll Call’s congressional research teams as vice president of research and content development before shifting to a revenue and strategy role as vice president of business operations for Roll Call, working with the advertising and editorial teams to develop new revenue models and expand the company’s events business. David lives in Fairfax, Va., with his wife, two daughters and rottweiler. A graduate of Tufts University, David is a past president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. He is also a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which works to celebrate and advance the role of women and minorities in the media. David currently serves on the board of directors for Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station.

See More Writings by author

With more than two dozen cases still to be decided by the Supreme Court this month – including what will surely be divisive rulings on abortion rights and gun control – the justices are likely to take a beating in the court of public opinion. With Americans’ trust in the court already below 50 percent, any additional drop will be a new low point.

The latest polling by Morning Consult found just 46 percent of Americans have “some” or “a lot of” trust in the Supreme Court, down from a recent high of 57 percent in April.

It’s the court’s lowest score since Morning Consult began asking the question. In fact, for much of 2020 and 2021, the court’s “trust” rating exceeded 60 percent.

In early May, Politico published a draft of a majority opinion that would unwind the right to an abortion provided in Roe v. Wade. The draft reopened divisions over abortion and restarted a debate that involves science, partisanship, religion and privacy.

But, according to Justice Clarence Thomas, the leak also severely undermined faith in the Supreme Court.

“I do think that what happened at the court is tremendously bad,” he said at a conference in May. “I wonder how long we’re going to have these institutions at the rate we’re undermining them.”

By May 8, a few days after the publication of the draft opinion, trust in the court had dropped below 50 percent for the first time in Morning Consult’s tracking.

With a final ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization expected in the coming days or weeks, there’s sure to be renewed outcry. More than 60 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, but the if the final opinion reflects the draft and wipes out federal protections, each state will be able to make its own laws regarding abortion.

More than a dozen states have already passed bans or restrictions on abortion that would go into effect if Roe is overturned.

The Supreme Court is also expected to rule on a challenge to a New York law that limits carrying a concealed weapon in public. In the wake of multiple mass shootings that have spurred new action on gun violence, this ruling will also be under intense scrutiny.

The latest poll, conducted June 2-4 of 2,210 adults with a margin of error of 2 percentage points, also shows new lows for trust in Congress (33 percent), the electoral process (44 percent) and government in general (39 percent).


Latest news

Close up of a person on their phone at night.
Media & Technology

The Capitol Is Counting on Us to Laugh

Latin America in Israel: A Diaspora Tested by Conflict
Community

Latin America in Israel: A Diaspora Tested by Conflict

Technology and Presidential Election
Media & Technology

How the Latest in AI Threatens Democracy

A person sits at a table, going through papers, using a calculator.
Economy

America’s Middle-Class Contract Is Breaking Down

Read More

Who’s Responsible When AI Causes Harm?: Unpacking the Federal AI Liability Framework Debate
the letters are made up of different colors
Photo by Steve A Johnson on Unsplash

Who’s Responsible When AI Causes Harm?: Unpacking the Federal AI Liability Framework Debate

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

Key takeaways

  • The U.S. has no national AI liability law. Instead, a patchwork of state laws has emerged which has resulted in legal protections being dependent on where an individual resides.
  • It’s often unclear who is legally responsible when AI causes harm. This gap leaves many people with no clear path to seek help.
  • In March 2026, the White House and Congress introduced major proposals to establish a federal standard, but there is significant disagreement about whether that standard should prioritize protecting innovation or protecting people harmed by AI systems.

Background: A Patchwork of State Laws

Without a national AI law, states have been filling in the gaps on their own. The result is an uneven landscape where a person’s legal protections depend entirely on which state they live in.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stethoscope, pile of hundred dollar bills and a calculator

A deep dive into America’s healthcare cost crisis, comparing reform to a modern “moonshot.” Explores payment models, rising costs, and lessons from John F. Kennedy’s space race vision to drive systemic change.

IronHeart/Getty Images

The Moonshot America Needs to Solve Its Healthcare Crisis

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy told the nation, “We choose to go to the moon.” It’s often remembered as a moment of national ambition. In reality, the United States was locked in a Cold War with the Soviet Union, and the fear of falling behind in technological dominance made the mission unavoidable.

Today’s space race is driven by a different force. Governments and private companies are investing billions to capture economic advantages, from satellite infrastructure to advanced computing to the next frontier of resource extraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
After the Court's Voting Rights Decision - How to Protect Black-Majority Districts
a large white building with columns with United States Supreme Court Building in the background
Photo by Fine Photographics on Unsplash

After the Court's Voting Rights Decision - How to Protect Black-Majority Districts

The Supreme Court recently ruled that Louisiana violated the Constitution in creating a new Black-majority voting district. This was after a Federal court had ruled that the previous map, by packing Blacks all in one district, diluted their votes, which violated the Voting Rights Act.

The question is what impact the decision in Louisiana v Callais will have on §2 of the Voting Rights Act ... and on the current gerrymander contest to gain safe seats in the House. The conservative majority said that the decision left the Act intact. The liberal minority, in a strong dissent by Justice Kagan, said that the practical impact was to "render §2 all but a dead letter," making it likely that existing Black-majority districts will not remain for long.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026