Most Americans have positive view of agencies Trump is targeting: poll
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The majority of Americans hold favorable views of the federal agencies that the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have begun overhauling, a new Economist/YouGov poll found.
Why it matters: President Trump has moved to swiftly gut critical agencies in order to reshape the federal workforce and cut costs from foundational portions of the federal government.
Driving the news: While the Trump administration has targeted the National Weather Service's (NWS) parent agency, the NWS had the highest approval rating among the agencies respondents were surveyed about (76%).
- Elon Musk's DOGE has set its sights on remaking the U.S.' air traffic control system, but most Americans favorably view the Federal Aviation Administration (62%) and Transportation Security Administration (59%).
- While disaster relief has become increasingly politicized, 55% of Americans said they favorably view the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- As Trump has sought to purge the FBI of agents who investigated Jan. 6 cases, 57% of Americans said they view the bureau favorably.
Zoom in: While the new administration could radically reshape food and vaccine safety, most Americans say they approve of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (63%) and Food and Drug Administration (61%).
State of play: Trump's overhaul of the federal bureaucracy has been wide-reaching and shows no signs of slowing down.
- Most staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government's lead humanitarian aid arm, will be put on leave by the end of this week.
- The government's targeting of the Labor Department has sparked a lawsuit from labor groups concerned about DOGE's access to confidential data.
- The CIA this week offered "buyouts" to its workforce.
- Trump also fired at least 17 independent agency watchdogs, with the Transportation Department among the agencies impacted.
Methodology: This Economist/YouGov poll was conducted Feb. 2-4, 2025 among 1,604 U.S. adults. The margin of error is ± 3.2%.
