Is Donald Trump improving the US government?

The question is whether the Trump administration is improving government — I'll gather recent data on its reforms and performance.

Whether Donald Trump is improving the U.S. government depends on the metric used and political perspective. Views are sharply divided:

What the Administration Claims as Improvements

The White House published a list of "365 wins" for Trump's first 365 days back in office, framing them as transformative results:

•Border and Immigration: Achieved negative net migration in 2025, reversing a 50-year trend, removed more than 2.6 million illegal aliens through deportations and voluntary self-departures, and reduced illegal border crossings to their lowest level since the 1970s. Administration materials also cite an 87% fall in apprehensions relative to recent averages and 16 straight months with no releases at the border.

•Economy and Deregulation: Claims include creating 654,000 private-sector jobs following deregulation and tax relief, real GDP rising 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025, and launching the largest deregulation initiative in U.S. history, delivering $5 trillion in savings. It also claims 20 major deregulatory actions will eventually save consumers and businesses over billions annually.

•Workforce Reduction: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative tasked with eliminating waste, fraud and abuse cut more than 10 percent of the federal workforce. Supporters argue this reversed decades of federal workforce growth and proved bureaucratic jobs could be cut without government collapse.

Trump himself gave his second-term performance an A+, saying "In government work, in economic terms, in all aspects, I give us an A+".

What Polls and Watchdogs Show

Polling in 2026 shows low overall approval:

•Pew Research Center found three-in-ten Americans now approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 68% disapprove, comparable to the lowest rating of his first term. Another Pew release in early October 2026 found approval had dropped to 30%.

•On the economy, only 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low, and only 17% approve of his handling of the cost of living. A majority, 65%, of U.S. adults now blame Trump's policies for persistently high costs.

•A CNN/SSRS poll in October 2026 found 27% approve of Trump's handling of the economy.

Trust in government remains low:

•In the Partnership for Public Service's most recent survey, only 27% of the public say they trust the federal government while 72% say it is "corrupt" and 75% say that it is "wasteful".

•The perception that the federal government is wasteful is actually greater now than it was one year ago, up from 61% to 75%, despite DOGE's stated goal to cut waste.

•The Partnership noted the crisis of confidence has been exacerbated by "haphazard actions" taken by the Trump administration including indiscriminate funding cuts, workforce reductions and unilateral actions bypassing Congress.

Assessments of DOGE are mixed:

•By DOGE's own questionable accounting, it cut $170 billion, far short of Elon Musk's promises of $1 trillion or even $2 trillion, while overall federal spending has increased and the budget deficit has widened.

•Analyses note the decline in federal workers has been offset by an increase in federal contractors, concentrated in homeland security and defense, reflecting a shift in priorities rather than an overall reduction in contracting.

Partisan Divide

Trust is highly partisan. When Donald Trump took office, viewpoints shifted: at 42%, Republicans are now more likely to say they trust the government than Democrats at 17%, a reversal from 2024 when 39% of Democrats trusted government compared with only 10% of Republicans.

In short, supporters point to border security, deregulation, and workforce cuts as evidence of improvement, while critics and recent national polls point to low approval on the economy and cost of living, persistent low trust in government, and unmet savings promises from efficiency efforts as evidence government is not seen as improved.

Citations (3)

1whitehouse.govGovernment
365 WINS IN 365 DAYS: President Trump’s Return Marks New Era of Success, Prosperity
Backs: “government depends on the metric used and political perspective. Views are sharply divided: What the Administration Claims as Improvements”
2ourpublicservice.orgNonprofits and think tanks
The State of Public Trust in Government 2026
Backs: “history, delivering $5 trillion in savings. It also claims 20 major deregulatory actions will eventually save consumers and businesses over billions annually. Workforce Reduction: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative tasked with eliminating waste, fraud and abuse cut more than 10 percent of the…”
3reason.comNews and mediaquality 0.81
DOGE cut the federal workforce. Why is government spending still rising?
Backs: “Workforce Reduction: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative tasked with eliminating waste, fraud and abuse cut more than 10 percent of the federal workforce.”