Is Donald Trump improving the US government?

Short answer: It depends on what “improving” means to you. On some metrics (shrinking and centralizing the executive branch), the Trump administration has made large, rapid changes; on others (agency capacity, transparency, employee morale), indicators point to strain and ongoing legal pushback.

Key facts as of September 18, 2026

•Context: Donald J. Trump is the 47th U.S. president, sworn in on January 20, 2025.[1]

•Management and workforce

•Broad plans to centralize control of the executive branch include Executive Order “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies,” which extends White House regulatory review to traditionally independent regulators; OMB has issued implementing guidance and updated core management circulars accordingly.[2]

•Agencies undertook substantial workforce reductions in 2025–2026; GAO documented agency steps to downsize, and OPM launched new public data tools tracking federal employment. Independent reporting estimates a steep headcount drop. Effects include loss of institutional knowledge and capacity concerns flagged by watchdogs.[3]

•Federal employee engagement, a proxy for organizational health, has shown signs of deterioration in 2025–2026 compared with the strong 2024 baseline many agencies had before the current term.[4]

•Regulation and administration

•The administration prioritized deregulation: new executive orders on energy and a “regulatory budget” approach, White House claims of record deregulatory results, and a historically low final-rule count in 2025 (as tracked by outside groups). Independent trackers at GWU and Brookings show a sharp policy swing and ongoing “regulatory ping-pong.”[5]

•Courts have already limited or blocked several high-profile moves (e.g., an order to keep a Michigan coal plant open; efforts to reshape mail voting). That legal friction creates implementation uncertainty—a practical governance issue regardless of policy view.[6]

•Service delivery (mixed picture)

•IRS: The National Taxpayer Advocate reported strong taxpayer service in the 2025 filing season, but performance slipped on phones in 2026 as staffing fell and complexity rose; IRS says it is changing how it measures service.[7]

•VA: The department reports record disability-claim processing and a declining backlog, while GAO still flags modernization and criteria issues that affect decision quality—suggesting throughput gains alongside lingering risks.[8]

•Transparency and oversight

•FOIA: Government-wide FOIA demand rose in FY2025; OIP’s summary and OGIS’s annual report note rising workloads and staffing challenges at many agencies, with resulting backlogs—signals of transparency strain rather than improvement.[9]

How to interpret this

•If “improvement” means smaller, more centralized executive power with fewer rules and tighter White House oversight of agencies, the answer trends toward “yes”—that is the clear direction of policy.[2]

•If “improvement” means stronger institutional capacity, stable service quality, high employee engagement, and fewer transparency backlogs, the evidence is mixed to negative so far, and many marquee initiatives face continuing court challenges.[10]

If you tell me which outcomes you care about—efficiency, service wait times, regulation levels, rule of law, or something else—I can pull the most relevant, current indicators and give a focused answer.

Citations (10)

1usa.govGovernment
Presidents, vice presidents, and first ladies | USAGov
Backs: “Trump is the 47th U.S. president, sworn in on January 20, 2025.”
2whitehouse.govGovernment
Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies – The White House
Backs: “OMB has issued implementing guidance and updated core management circulars accordingly.”
3gao.govGovernment
Federal Agency Workforce Changes: Update for July 2025 to January 2026 | U.S. GAO
Backs: “Effects include loss of institutional knowledge and capacity concerns flagged by watchdogs.”
4ourpublicservice.orgNonprofits and think tanks
The 2024 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings set a benchmark for the Trump administration - Partnership for Public Service
Backs: “Federal employee engagement, a proxy for organizational health, has shown signs of deterioration in 2025–2026 compared with the strong 2024 baseline many agencies had before the current term.”
5whitehouse.govGovernment
Unleashing American Energy – The White House
Backs: “Independent trackers at GWU and Brookings show a sharp policy swing and ongoing “regulatory ping-pong.””
6apnews.comNews and mediaquality 1.00
Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open
Backs: “That legal friction creates implementation uncertainty—a practical governance issue regardless of policy view.”
7irs.govGovernment
National Taxpayer Advocate delivers Annual Report to Congress; finds taxpayer service was strong in 2025 but foresees challenges for taxpayers who encounter problems in 2026 | Internal Revenue Service
Backs: “The National Taxpayer Advocate reported strong taxpayer service in the 2025 filing season, but performance slipped on phones in 2026 as staffing fell and complexity rose; IRS says it is changing how it measures service.”
8va.govGovernment
VA processes 2M disability benefits claims in record time – again
Backs: “The department reports record disability-claim processing and a declining backlog, while GAO still flags modernization and criteria issues that affect decision quality—suggesting throughput gains alongside lingering risks.”
9justice.govGovernment
Office of Information Policy | Summary of Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Reports Published
Backs: “OIP’s summary and OGIS’s annual report note rising workloads and staffing challenges at many agencies, with resulting backlogs—signals of transparency strain rather than improvement.”
10federalnewsnetwork.comNews and mediaquality 0.93
Under Trump 2.0, federal employees disengaged, dissatisfied, survey shows | Federal News Network
Backs: “If “improvement” means stronger institutional capacity, stable service quality, high employee engagement, and fewer transparency backlogs, the evidence is mixed to negative so far, and many marquee initiatives face continuing court challenges.”