Is Donald Trump improving the US government?

Short answer: It depends on what you mean by “improving.” If you judge improvement by shrinking and centralizing control of the federal bureaucracy, President Trump has moved aggressively in that direction. If you judge it by service delivery, institutional nonpartisanship, fiscal stability, and public trust, the picture is mixed and in some areas negative.

A few evidence-based lenses to consider (as of September 21, 2026):

•Efficiency/cost-cutting and workforce changes

•The administration created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by executive order on January 20, 2025, to centralize modernization and cost-control efforts; agencies launched DOGE task forces and report contract cancellations and other savings.[1]

•A governmentwide hiring freeze, a forced return to in‑person work, and other “workforce reshaping” programs reduced headcount substantially in 2025–2026. GAO and OPM data and memos note the scale of these changes and warn about risks if turnover isn’t strategically managed.[2]

•Separately, the White House moved to reclassify or strip protections from some senior civil servants (a Schedule F–style policy) to speed removals and align the bureaucracy with the president’s agenda. Reporting indicates thousands of roles are affected.[3]

•Service delivery and mission performance

•IRS performance has been “generally strong” for most filers in the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons, but there are still notable delays for identity‑theft victims and in some paper processes; GAO’s preliminary look at 2026 echoes the “good for most, slow for complex cases” pattern.[4]

•Veterans’ health access: VA OIG and GAO report persistent scheduling and timeliness problems into late‑2025/2026.[5]

•Emergency management: GAO finds FEMA’s hiring freeze and staff reductions may impair mission readiness.[6]

•Other pockets show strain from staffing cuts (e.g., Bureau of Indian Affairs investigations).[7]

•Governance norms, independence, and transparency

•A federal judge recently blocked the administration’s “loyalty” essay question on job applications, finding it unlawfully politicized career hiring; unions had challenged similar practices earlier this year.[8]

•On September 18–19, 2026, the White House denied access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after the president announced bans on those outlets, drawing legal and press‑freedom objections.[9]

•The administration has also sought greater centralized White House/OMB review over independent agencies’ regulations, presented as an efficiency and legality check, which critics argue undermines independence.[10]

•Fiscal and macro context

•Despite promised savings, federal deficits remain historically large: CBO projects a $1.9 trillion deficit in FY2026; shutdown‑related disruptions in late 2025 modestly dented growth. The administration’s own 2026 Economic Report notes weaker 2025 GDP partly from the shutdown’s impact.[11]

•Public trust and confidence

•Confidence in U.S. institutions, including the federal government, remains near record lows in 2026, per Gallup and other surveys—suggesting that, so far, the administration’s changes have not translated into higher public trust.[12]

How to sum it up

•Supporters can point to: rapid executive action to cut spending and headcount, centralized oversight of rules and grants, and efforts to tighten accountability—changes they argue make government leaner and more responsive.[1]

•Critics can point to: degraded capacity and backlogs in key services, attempts to politicize the civil service and restrict independent media access, and continued large deficits—changes they argue make government less capable, less neutral, and less trusted.[6]

If you tell me which outcomes matter most to you (e.g., smaller payroll, faster tax refunds, veteran care access, civil‑service neutrality, lower deficits), I can give a more tailored “is this improving or not” assessment with the most relevant data.

Citations (12)

1govinfo.govGovernment
DCPD-202500125 - Executive Order 14158—Establishing and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency" - DCPD-202500125 | Content Details | GovInfo
Backs: “The administration created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by executive order on January 20, 2025, to centralize modernization and cost-control efforts; agencies launched DOGE task forces and report contract cancellations and other savings.”
2opm.govGovernment
Workforce Changes
Backs: “GAO and OPM data and memos note the scale of these changes and warn about risks if turnover isn’t strategically managed.”
3washingtonpost.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Trump strips job protections from 8,000 senior federal workers - The Washington Post
Backs: “Separately, the White House moved to reclassify or strip protections from some senior civil servants (a Schedule F–style policy) to speed removals and align the bureaucracy with the president’s agenda. Reporting indicates thousands of roles are affected.”
4irs.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: “GAO’s preliminary look at 2026 echoes the “good for most, slow for complex cases” pattern.”
5vaoig.govGovernment
Audit of Consult Timeliness for VA and Community Care | Department of Veterans Affairs OIG
Backs: “VA OIG and GAO report persistent scheduling and timeliness problems into late‑2025/2026.”
6gao.govGovernment
GAO-26-108427, FEMA WORKFORCE: Staff Reductions and Lack of Planning May Impact Mission Readiness
Backs: “GAO finds FEMA’s hiring freeze and staff reductions may impair mission readiness.”
7apnews.comNews and mediaquality 1.00
Staffing problems stall federal investigations of missing and killed Native people
Backs: “Other pockets show strain from staffing cuts (e.g., Bureau of Indian Affairs investigations).”
8bloomberglaw.comNews and media
Trump ‘Loyalty Question’ for Applicants Paused by Federal Judge
Backs: “A federal judge recently blocked the administration’s “loyalty” essay question on job applications, finding it unlawfully politicized career hiring; unions had challenged similar practices earlier this year.”
9apnews.comNews and mediaquality 1.00
Trump targets more news outlets, saying he will ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House
Backs: “On September 18–19, 2026, the White House denied access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after the president announced bans on those outlets, drawing legal and press‑freedom objections.”
10govinfo.govGovernment
Mid-Session Review
Backs: “The administration has also sought greater centralized White House/OMB review over independent agencies’ regulations, presented as an efficiency and legality check, which critics argue undermines independence.”
11cbo.govGovernment
The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036 | Congressional Budget Office
Backs: “The administration’s own 2026 Economic Report notes weaker 2025 GDP partly from the shutdown’s impact.”
12gallup.comCompanies
Confidence in U.S. Institutions Remains Near All-Time Low
Backs: “Confidence in U.S. institutions, including the federal government, remains near record lows in 2026, per Gallup and other surveys—suggesting that, so far, the administration’s changes have not translated into higher public trust.”