The public is noticing the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce and government programs

More than a year after the 2024 presidential election which returned Donald Trump to the White House, a new online poll conducted by the Partnership for Public Service shows that nearly half the country is noticing the impact of the administration’s cuts to the federal workforce and government programs.

The poll—conducted in September about two weeks prior to the government shutdown—found that 46% of respondents say they or someone they know have been personally affected by the government cuts. That is a substantial increase from a similar poll conducted in March when only 29% of respondents said they knew someone personally impacted. Most survey participants cited negative effects such as federal employees throughout the country losing their jobs or the decreasing access to government benefits. However, a small portion felt the changes were positive, citing reductions in wasteful government spending and lowering prices as examples.

The visibility of such cuts is particularly strong for younger adults. About 6 in 10 adults ages 18 to 24 say they know someone impacted, almost twice as much as the 33% of adults age 65 and above. This difference may be a result of the greater use of social media, or perhaps substantial cuts that have been made to education and the effect of the federal hiring freeze on people looking to enter the job market.

Opposition to the cutbacks remains strong with 51% of respondents opposing the changes compared with 43% who are in support. Those numbers are very similar to the levels of support the Partnership found in March—suggesting that opinions have not changed much over that time and that partisanship continues to be among the strongest factors influencing Americans’ views on the firings of federal employees and the loss of federal programs.

The survey also found that Americans are generally more supportive of reforms to “government” broadly than examples of specific reductions to federal personnel or funding. About two-thirds of respondents say they have concerns about consequences of cuts to each of the Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

These results come from an online survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by the Partnership from Sept. 12-15, 2025, using a panel maintained by Prodege. While it is not a random, nationally representative sample, the Partnership used quota sampling techniques to resemble the demographic makeup of the U.S.

Attention to the changes made to the federal government remains strong. In March, 78% of respondents said they were following the Trump administration’s cuts to the government closely. Now, that number is virtually unchanged at 77%.

However, there has been a notable increase in awareness about the impact of such cuts across the political spectrum.

Sixteen percent of survey participants say that they personally have been impacted by the cuts while another 30% say they know someone else who has been directly affected. Combined, that means that 46% say they know someone impacted—a 17 point increase from March when less than one-in-three people said they knew someone impacted.

The fact that about half the country says they are noticing the impact suggests the issue is not just an inside-the-Beltway story. Rather, people around the country see how such changes are affecting their communities and lives. Because the reductions and changes to federal personnel and funding are ongoing, the full effects of these actions may not be known for a long time.

While more self-described Democrats say they know someone impacted than self-described Republicans or independents, the increase of awareness was virtually the same across the political spectrum. For Democrats and independents, the numbers increased by 17 percentage points since March while Republicans increased by 16 percentage points.

Of note, Republicans are the group most likely to say that they personally have been impacted by the cuts. The reason for this difference is not clear, although it may be because some Republicans believe they have personally seen a positive impact while other groups generally think of the impact as negative. When asked for specific effects, a few Republican respondents noted they have seen a decrease in consumer prices and a reduction in what they see as wasteful government spending.

Support for the administration’s cuts to public services and the federal workforce has remained remarkably steady for the past six months. While Republicans continue to support such efforts by wide margins, both Democrats and independents are greatly opposed.

Opinions also have remained steady when asking about specific consequences. For example, one potential negative consequence of the large exodus of federal employees is the loss of experience and knowledge from the civil service as a whole. Now, 64% of respondents say they are at least “somewhat” concerned about such loss of expertise that could result from the decrease of federal employees. That is the same percentage of respondents who expressed concern in March.

When asked about the impact of the cuts to one’s life and community, more people say changes made things worse rather than better. Almost half (47%) say the cuts made their community worse along with 46% who say the cuts made their life worse.

There has been a minor change in opinion on these ideas since March which suggests a small, yet significant, trend. There was a slight shift of Republicans who went from believing cuts would make things better to now saying they “do not know” what the impact has been. In March, 71% of Republicans said the cuts would make their community better while 14% said they were unsure. Now, the number of people who say their communities are better is down to 62% while the number of Republicans who say they are unsure has doubled to 28%.

A similar shift occurred among Republicans when asked about whether the cuts made their lives better or worse.

While not a large share, these changes suggest there could be a shift where fewer Republicans are confident in the outcomes and slightly more are undecided or conflicted.

While 43% of respondents say they support the cuts to the government by the Trump administration broadly, support appears to decline when people are asked about specific cuts to agencies.

About two-thirds of respondents say they are at least somewhat concerned about the impact of cuts to the Department of Defense on national security, cuts to FEMA on disaster preparedness and cuts to CDC and NIH on public health.

Although more research is needed, these results suggest the public may react differently when confronted with the potential consequences of government cuts to specific issues. It is possible that levels of concern and opinions are altered when people are asked to think about real-world or practical consequences to cuts as opposed to broad or abstract changes.

While the majority of Americans oppose the administration’s changes to the government, about 4 in 10 are supportive.

Supporters say they are following news about the cuts closely—although at about the same rate as opponents. Eighty-one percent of supporters say they are following news closely compared with 79% of those who oppose the cuts.

More than other any characteristic, supporters of the administration’s cuts to government programs and the civil service express strong belief the Trump administration will “make good decisions regarding the size and scope of the federal government.” Fully 93% of supporters have at least some such trust in the current administration.

Supporters also believe the cuts will result in real savings for American taxpayers, with 80% saying there will be either “a lot” or “some” savings. This belief has persisted among supporters despite evidence the cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency are much lower than claimed by the administration.

Overall, most supporters believe the cuts had positive outcomes. About two-thirds say the changes to the federal government improved their lives and their communities. Yet 10% say the cuts made their lives or communities worse, and about one-in-five are uncertain.

This strong level of trust in the Trump administration to ultimately make good decisions about management of the federal government may help explain why supporters favor such efforts, even though many also express concern that there will be problems created for the country.

Forty percent of supporters say the changes will “hurt the U.S. economy.” Roughly the same numbers say they are concerned about cuts to FEMA, science agencies and the Department of Defense. And 43%—roughly the same percentage as in March—say they are concerned about “the loss of experience and knowledge” of the federal workforce with hundreds of thousands of federal employees leaving their jobs.

The level of support for the Trump administration’s changes to federal programs and the workforce have remained steady for the past six months. Continued funding cuts, personnel reductions and harms to the public documented by the Partnership and others do not seem to be shifting opinion thus far. However, the significant increase in the number of people who say they are noticing their effects suggests that the cuts are having some impact and the public is paying attention.

As more reductions are made and the impact becomes more obvious in the months ahead, the role of public opinion may become more important as lawmakers and federal agencies react to changes. The Partnership will continue to follow the public’s views on these issues and detail the impact on the lives of the American people.