Fully 63% of Americans say management is heading in the “wrong direction,” according to a new survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service. The public’s views, especially among Republicans, are getting increasingly negative over time.
As we head into a mid-term election, these numbers should serve as a strong warning sign to lawmakers that the American people want the government to be run quite differently.
Only 20% of Americans say management of the government is heading in the “right direction.” The current 43-point difference is greater than the 28-point difference that existed the first time we asked this question in April 2025—just months into the second Trump administration.
When asked if the federal government is operating better or worse than it was one year ago, the results are similar. Only 18% of Americans say the federal government is operating better compared with 62% who say it is operating worse. Those numbers are also more negative than they were in April 2025.
These results come from a series of nationally representative surveys conducted by the Partnership using the AmeriSpeak omnibus survey and probability panel produced by NORC at the University of Chicago. The most recent survey was conducted Oct. 8-12, 2026, of 1,057 U.S. adults. The margin of error is +/- 4.1%.
Republicans are becoming increasingly negative
Soon after Trump took office for the second time last year, Republicans were very optimistic about the management of the federal government. Over the past year and a half, that positivity has declined.
Now, less than half of Republicans (47%) say management of the federal government is heading in the right direction compared with 27% who say it is heading in the wrong direction. Another 26% say they are unsure.
The percentage of Republicans who said management was moving in the right direction was 69% in April 2025, meaning that viewpoint has decreased by 22 percentage points over that time. Only 11% said they were unsure at that time, 15 percentage points less than now.
A similar decline occurred regarding whether Republicans feel the government is operating better or worse than a year ago. Only 43% of Republicans now say the government is operating better compared with 29% who say it is operating worse.
In April 2025, 60% of Republicans said the government was operating better than a year before.
These decreases do not necessarily mean that Republicans are opposing the managerial actions of the current administration—but it does signal a trend. A Partnership survey from earlier this year showed strong support among Republicans for the Trump administration’s operational changes. It is possible that Republican support for such efforts is declining as people witness more consequences, and it could also mean that some believe other elements of the government are hindering efforts they otherwise support.
Democrats have been consistently negative about the operation of the federal government during this period with barely any movement in their opinions.
Like Republicans, independents have become more negative over time. Now, 68% of independents say management of the federal government is heading in the wrong direction, up from 57% a year and a half ago.
In other surveys, the Partnership has repeatedly found that the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal government through funding cuts and workforce reductions are deeply unpopular among the American public. These new numbers further illustrate resistance to how the government is operating and show growing pessimism, especially among Republicans.
Such results should encourage the Trump administration and Congress to conduct a thorough examination of their current management of the federal government. With a new Congress set to convene in a few months, now is a good time for lawmakers to assess the state of the government and whether it is addressing the needs and desires of the American people.