Americans See More Overreach From The President Than From Judges, An Ap-norc Poll Finds

As President Donald Trump faces significant pushback from federal judges, a new poll shows U.S. adults are more likely to believe the president is the one overstepping his power rather than the courts -- although Republicans largely think the opposite.

According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research , about half of Americans say the president has "too much" power in the way government operates these days. On the other hand, Americans are more likely to believe the federal courts have an appropriate amount of authority. Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say that federal judges have "too much" power.

Republicans see it the other way: Roughly half say the federal judiciary has too much power, and only about 2 in 10 say the president does.

The survey comes as Trump has issued a record number of executive orders and pushed the boundaries of presidential power, wresting from Congress its constitutional authority to determine spending levels and defying court orders on immigration. The Republican president has directed the Department of Justice to go after his enemies , pressured law firms he sees as antagonistic and used the threat of federal prosecution to coerce officials and others to support his agenda.

The courts have generally been the only branch of government to push back on Trump's plans, while the GOP-controlled Congress has mostly deferred to him . Only about 3 in 10 Americans say Congress has too much power, and just 17 of Democrats say federal courts have excessive power. On the other hand, the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court fares better with Republicans - only about one-quarter think it has too much power, while one-third of Democrats believe that.