Overview
- The Bright Line Watch poll run with UCLA’s Safeguarding Democracy Project was released May 24, 2026 and anonymously sampled 21 federal judges, 113 lawyers, 193 law professors, 652 political scientists and 2,750 Americans.
- About eight in 10 respondents said federal officials fail to comply with court orders somewhat or very often and nearly nine in 10 said political appointees in the Justice Department mislead federal judges somewhat or very often.
- Respondents across ideological lines reported broad alarm about excessive use of executive power and the politicization of law enforcement, with UCLA’s Rick Hasen warning this consensus shows the rule of law is under tremendous stress.
- Former Trump lawyer Ty Cobb publicly accused acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of abandoning integrity and supporting what Cobb described as a $1.8 billion slush fund, an insider critique cited alongside the survey findings.
- Coverage notes that lower courts have sometimes checked administration actions but that sustained noncompliance and misleading by officials could weaken judicial authority and increase pressure on elections, Congress, and public oversight to restore norms.