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Most Americans oppose the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce

As President Donald Trump passes his 100^th day in office, a new survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service shows the public strongly opposes the way his administration is changing the federal workforce.

By a margin of nearly 2-to- 1, Americans believe the administration’s federal workforce changes—which feature arbitrary funding cuts to key programs and mass layoffs of civil servants—will have a negative impact on the American people. Fully 57% think the administration’s workforce changes will have a negative impact, compared with only 32% who think the impact will be positive.

These new results come from a survey conducted by the Partnership in conjunction with AmeriSpeak Omnibus. The survey of 1,200 U.S. adults was conducted April 18-20, 2025.

The results are part of the Partnership’s work on understanding the crisis in public trust facing the federal government.

Trust in the government has been low for many years. Yet, the dramatic and chaotic changes made during the first months of the Trump administration pose new obstacles to how effectively the government can function. Such changes risk the loss of experienced and knowledgeable federal employees who deliver essential public services. Our new survey results indicate the public is aware of—and concerned about—this risk.

More than half the public—55%—say the government is operating worse than it was a year ago, compared with only 26% who say the government is operating better.  

Earlier Partnership research found that some supporters of the Trump administration’s downsizing efforts—led by the Department of Government Efficiency—believe there will be long-term benefits to the cuts, even if they cause short-term problems.

However, this most recent survey indicates a majority of the public does not hold this view. Fifty-eight percent of Americans say the government is headed in the wrong direction, while only 30% say the government is headed in the right direction.

In addition, there is a large divide between how different parties view the current state of government. Republicans generally support the administration’s actions, while both Democrats and independents are in strong opposition.

Almost three-quarters of Republicans, or 71%, say the Trump administration’s changes will have a positive impact on the American people, compared with 17% who think the changes will have a negative impact.

By contrast, 88% of Democrats think the White House’s changes will have a negative impact.

Self-described independents are also overwhelmingly negative. In fact, 63% of independents say the Trump administration’s changes will have a negative impact, compared with only 15% who say the impact will be positive.

The effects of the government cuts are being seen around the country and are not just an “inside-the-beltway” story.

Separate Partnership research shows that almost one-third of the country knows someone who has been personally impacted by government cuts and that the public is paying close attention to the administration’s federal workforce reductions.

For more than 20 years, the Partnership has advocated for improvements to make the federal government more efficient and effective.

However, the Trump administration’s dramatic, arbitrary and haphazard slashing of the federal workforce and federal services over the past 100 days is not the right way to improve how the government works.

These new survey results show the public strongly agrees with this proposition and is pessimistic about what they will mean for our government and our country.

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