Elon Musk puts on a hat that reads "Gulf of America" during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025. Recent surveys show that most Americans view his Department of Government Efficiency negatively. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Survey says…most Americans don’t like DOGE
New polling data from the Partnership for Public Service shows that nearly double the number of surveyed respondents thought Trump’s federal workforce overhauls would have negative impacts compared with those who supported the policies, but there were sharp divides between Republicans and Democrats.
Most Americans oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to slash government programs and remove federal employees, which are being spearheaded by the Elon Musk-backed Department of Government Efficiency, according to an analysis of survey data by the Partnership for Public Service.
The nonpartisan good government organization’s analysis, which was released on Tuesday, found that 57% of Americans agreed that the president’s changes to the federal workforce will have a negative effect on the American people while 32% rated them positively. Majorities of nearly 2-1 also said that governmental operations are worse than they were a year ago and that agency management is headed in the wrong direction.
But there is a stark partisan split.
For Republicans, 71% said Trump’s changes have been positive, compared with 17% that rated them negatively. Likewise, 60% of GOP respondents think governmental operations have improved since last year and 69% agreed that federal management is headed in the right direction, while those opposed did not reach higher than 20%.
In contrast, 88% of Democrats said Trump’s overhauls have had a negative effect and 63% of independents said the same, compared with just 8% and 15% that rated them positively, respectively.
This data comes from a survey of 1,200 U.S. adults that was conducted from April 18-20 by NORC, an independent research affiliate of the University of Chicago. Results were balanced by sex, age, education, race/ethnicity and region.
The release of this survey coincides with Trump’s first 100 days in office as well as the expected departure of Musk from government.
“This data shows just how catastrophic the Trump administration’s first 100 days have been for services to the American people, taxpayer value and effective government,” said Max Stier, the Partnership’s president and CEO, in a statement. “We need a more effective government, but this administration is taking us so far in exactly the wrong direction.”
On the other hand, Trump said during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting that Musk has “sacrificed a lot [and] been treated very unfairly.”
“The vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you,” Trump said to Musk while Cabinet officers applauded. “You’ve been a tremendous help. You’ve opened a lot of eyes as to what can be done.”
The Partnership’s polling results are in line with other recent surveys:
- A March Fox News poll found that 58% of respondents disapproved of Elon Musk’s work at DOGE compared with 40% who approved.
- According to a March NBC survey, by six points, more Americans feel negatively than positively about DOGE.
- A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll of U.S. adults in April reported that 56% said layoffs of government employees have gone too far and 57% said the same for closing federal agencies.