The American public's trust in their government has plunged to an all-time low, according to a new poll released on Friday.
Gallup poll said of the three branches of US government, the judicial branch recorded the biggest dip in trust rating—a 23 percent decline. The rating was at 76 percent at the beginning of the Obama administration in 2009. In the latest Gallup survey, only 53 percent of respondents say they have "a great deal'' or "a fair amount'' of trust in their government.
Trust in the executive and legislative branches also remains near historical lows at 45 percent and 32 percent, respectively, but both were slightly up this year from the previous year, Gallup said.
Despite this year's drop, the judiciary has the highest rated level of trust compared to the executive and legislative branches.
The survey attributed this to the media and the Supreme Court's less public scrutiny given that "work is not as constant a presence in the news media as is the work of the president and Congress."
Galllup said "the decline in trust in the judicial branch likely stems from the Supreme Court's controversial decisions this year to legalise same-sex marriage and uphold a key provision of the Affordable Care Act allowing Americans to purchase subsidised health insurance through federally run marketplaces."
The poll results are based on Gallup's Sept. 9-13 Governance poll, which has been measuring trust in the three branches of the federal government annually since 2001.
Gallup surveyed 1,025 adults, ages 18 and older, from Sept. 9-13.
