Most Americans have positive view of agencies Trump is targeting: poll
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.


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%.
