Featured May 5, 2025 Most Americans oppose the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce Back to Blog Most Americans think the management of the federal government is moving in the wrong direction Date December 1, 2025 Authors Paul Hitlin Tags Government Effectiveness A new survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service shows that most of the public is pessimistic about the management of the federal government and that cuts made by the Trump administration to the federal workforce and federal programs are having a negative impact on the country. The survey, conducted in October during the government shutdown, found that Americans say the government is moving in the “wrong direction” by more than a rate of 2-to-1. Fully 61% say the government is moving in the wrong direction compared with only 25% who say it is moving in the “right direction.” Another 13% are unsure. These new results come from a survey conducted by the Partnership in conjunction with AmeriSpeak Omnibus. The survey of 1,096 U.S. adults was conducted from Oct. 9-13, 2025, which was the second week of the government shutdown. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points. While it is possible the shutdown impacted the views of survey respondents, the results are virtually identical to those expressed six months ago in a similar Partnership survey. Then, 30% said the government was moving in the right direction, and 58% said the government was moving in the wrong direction. The similarity between the two sets of results suggests that opinions about changes to the federal government have been steady and that external events may have only a limited effect on the public’s views. A small shift among Republicans and independents Self-described Democrats and independents are especially negative about the direction of the government, while self-described Republicans are mostly positive. This was also the case six months ago. This discrepancy fits with previous Partnership research that shows partisanship is a clear factor in how the public views the federal government. While the overall numbers have not shifted much since April, there has been some movement among Republicans and independents, suggesting they are slightly less positive now than they were previously. Now, 59% of Republicans say the government is headed in the right direction, down 10 points from 69% in April. Among independents, 9% say the government is going in the right direction compared with 16% in April. These shifts are small and may be caused by several factors. It is possible the government shutdown impacted the October results. It is also possible that there has been tiny, but noticeable, movement among Republicans and independents toward a more negative—or at least uncertain—view of the government’s direction. Most Americans oppose the changes made by the Trump administration More than twice as many Americans say the operating of the federal government has gotten worse. Fifty-eight percent say the government is operating “worse today” than a year ago compared with 26% who say it is operating “better today.” These numbers are virtually identical to the feelings expressed in April, even when considering partisan affiliations. Those numbers are also close to the views Americans express when specifically asked about the impact of the Trump administration’s changes to the government. Fifty-nine percent of Americans say they think the impact will be negative compared with 28% who say it will be positive. These results are within the survey’s margin of error compared with the survey conducted six months ago. Opinions appear to have crystallized These recent results are remarkably similar to those expressed in April. The results for the three different survey questions—which ask about the management of the government in slightly different ways—are very close to each other as well. While there has been some movement among Republicans and independents, those changes are small. It is premature to determine if this trend will continue. One conclusion is clear, however. Regardless of survey wording—or whether the question was asked six months ago or just recently—roughly twice as many Americans are troubled by the direction of the federal government than are supportive. Paul Hitlin manages research for the Partnership's Center for Presidential Transition and also helps lead the Partnership's research on public trust of the federal government.
