WASHINGTON − A large majority of the public wants theSupreme Courtto rule against PresidentDonald Trumpin two major pending cases, according to a new Marquette Law School Poll.
More than six out of ten adults surveyed in January said the high court should uphold alower court rulinglimiting the president's authority to impose tariffs.
About the same share also said the court should rule that Trump can'tremovea member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors.
But more than half said the justices are going out of their way to avoid ruling against the president.
Supreme Court has been receptive to Trump's appeals
The court – which has a 6-3 conservative majority − has beenoverwhelmingly receptiveto Trump's appeals of challenges to his actions as president, often allowing controversial policies to move forward while they're being litigated.
Now that some of the challenges have gone through the lower courts, the justices are being asked to decide the ultimate fate of Trump's policies.
During the November oral arguments about Trump's sweeping tariffs, many of the justicessounded skepticalthat the president can tap emergency powers found in a 1977 law to sidestep the more complex and limited tariffs process other presidents have relied on.
More:Justices question Trump tariffs as Supreme Court weighs keeping them: Top takeaways
But the court hasn't issued its decision, leading to speculation that the justices are in no rush to invalidate the centerpiece of Trump's economic agenda and a major foreign policy tool
It's not unusual, however, for the court totake monthsto issue a major decision. And the court has decided only one of the other eight cases debated in November, all of which are less consequential than the tariffs dispute.
In the Marquette Law School Poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, 56% said tariffs hurt the economy while 30% said they help.
Poll found most want an independent Federal Reserve
And 76% said the Federal Reserve should be independent of political control.
Trump's attempt to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve was debated in January.
The justicesseemed likelyto at least let Cook remain at the central bank while she fights Trump's allegations. The court could also rule outright that Trump doesn't have a good reason to fire her, which would settle the dispute entirely.
More:Can Trump fire Fed's Lisa Cook? Supreme Court seems doubtful
Even if that happens, Trump could rack up a win in another pending decision about his ability to control independent agencies.
In a case argued in December, a majority of the justicesseemed likelyto agree that the president can fire at will the heads of the Federal Trade Commission and many other agencies set up by Congress to be led by politically balanced boards of experts serving staggered, fixed terms.
But the court has suggested that it views the Federal Reserve differently, likely leading to a divergent outcome in Cook's case.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Most want Supreme Court to rule against Trump on tariffs, Fed: Poll
