A new Gallup poll that asked about approval of top U.S. government officials showed Chief Justice John Roberts as the highest-ranked of all officials with 48% approval. 

The new poll released Thursday did not show any officials with approval ratings over 50%, and even Roberts' disapproval rate was almost as high as his approval rate at 46%.

Second place in the poll was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who had a 46% approval rating.

Third was Secretary of State Antony Blinken with 45%, while Attorney General Merrick Garland was fourth with 44%.

At the bottom

President Joe Biden was almost at the bottom of the list with 39% approval, but the very last place in the poll went to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who only had 27% approval.

Both Biden and McConnell have had public gaffes and seeming lapses of coherence, and are perceived as "too old" to hold their respective positions; both are 81.

Other than Roberts and Jeffries, all other officials had at least 50% disapproval in the poll.

Biden's disapproval was 59% and McConnell's was 71%, putting both well underwater.

Vice President Kamala Harris was barely above Biden's number with 40% approval and 58% disapproval.

Declines in approval

Despite having the top ranking for approval in the poll, Roberts saw the steepest decline in approval. Before Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2021, he had a 60% approval rating.

Besides the Roe decision, the high court has also been plagued with accusations of ethical lapses by some justices and a perceived unwillingness to be held accountable by Congress. Roberts was not accused of any ethical lapses, but he is looked at as "in charge" of the court.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also saw a major decline in approval from 53% to 43% in two years. This is probably due to interest rate hikes and a perception that he is responsible for the high inflation that has plagued the U.S. over the last three years.

There is deep discontent with the country today, both with the economy and with other policies Americans find important. That discontent is no doubt fueling these low approval and high disapproval numbers, and there's no telling when the discontent will end even as the economy seems to stabilize.

It is only right to hold those running the government accountable for its failures, even if some, like Garland and Blinken, should probably be down where Biden is and not near the top.