The American public’s trust in major U.S. institutions is rapidly approaching a record low, with Congress and mainstream media faring the worst. According to a Gallup survey published this week, American trust in 12 of 14 institutions is at or nearing record lows, with only an average of 27% placing their trust in major U.S. institutions. Small business was rated the most trustworthy (67%), followed by the military and police, at 61% and 45% respectively. Organized religion was next in line (33%), followed by banks and the medical system (tied at 28%).

Americans placed the same degree of trust (27%) in the presidency, the U.S. Supreme Court, and public schools, one point ahead of organized labor (26%). One-fifth (20%) of Americans said that they trust big technology companies (20%), while Big Business (17%) and the criminal justice system (17%) both scored lower. Newspapers (17%) and television news (14%) clocked in just above Congress (9%). While the medical system’s current trust score rivals its own all-time low, public schools and newspapers are only one point above their record lows, and the Supreme Court and Congress are only two points away from their lowest points.

One of the key differences that Gallup recorded was a new high in the difference between how political parties view institutions. Generally, Republicans (36%) have a higher level of trust in institutions than both Independent voters (26%) and Democrats (23%). Trust among Republicans is highest in the military (88%), small business (79%), police (75%), and the presidency (74%), but lowest in public schools (16%), Congress (14%), newspapers (10%), and television news (6%). Independent voters likewise have the highest degree of trust in small business (62%), military (61%), police (40%), and higher education (38%), and the lowest level of trust in Big Business (16%), newspapers and television news (16% each), and Congress (11%).

Democrats expressed the highest level of trust in small business (65%), followed by higher education (50%), the military (42%), and public schools (35%). Organized labor (32%), police (30%), and banks (30%) were the only other institutions Democrats rated at 30% or above. Congress (5%) and the presidency (4%) were rated the least trustworthy by Democrats.

According to Gallup, partisan differences were minor or moderate throughout the 1980s and 1990s, widening somewhat under Bill Clinton’s presidency before exploding under President Donald Trump’s first term, widening further under former President Joe Biden and even further upon Trump’s return to the White House. “The partisan differences seen in overall confidence extend to most institutions individually. With Trump as president, Republicans express substantially greater confidence than Democrats in most institutions measured,” Gallup Director of U.S. Social Research Lydia Saad wrote. “Americans’ confidence in major U.S. institutions remains near the lowest level Gallup has recorded in more than four decades, averaging less than 30% for the fifth consecutive year.”

“A key factor in this slump is that Americans no longer appear to share a broad faith in core civic, social and government institutions; instead, their confidence varies with who holds political power,” Saad observed. “Still, past drops in confidence have eventually reversed, offering some reason for optimism. But recoveries have rarely restored confidence to previous highs, resulting in each downturn in U.S. confidence being lower than the one before.”