Is Donald Trump improving the US government?
Short answer: it’s mixed, and it depends on what you mean by “improving.”
A few concrete ways the federal government has changed under President Trump (sworn in on January 20, 2025):
Bottom line: If you define “improving” as tighter border enforcement, a smaller civil service, and aggressive deregulation, you can point to measurable movement. If you define it as stronger institutional capacity, transparency, fiscal sustainability, and stable service delivery, the record shows strains from the 2025 shutdown, grant‑pause confusion, persistent large deficits, incomplete performance reporting, and lower reported employee ability to serve.
If you tell me which outcomes matter most to you—cost savings, service quality, rulemaking, immigration, climate, civil service independence—I can dig deeper into that slice with the latest data.[10]
Citations (10)
- Federal Agency Workforce Changes: Update for January to June 2025 | U.S. GAO
Backs: “In 2026 OPM finalized a “Schedule Policy/Career” rule that makes thousands of policy‑influencing civil service roles easier to reassign or remove, increasing White House control but raising concerns about politicization.”
- GAO-26-108516, GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: OMB and Selected Agencies Need to Fully Address New Requirements
Backs: “GAO says OMB and several major agencies have not fully met newer transparency and performance‑reporting requirements on Performance.gov, which can hinder accountability.”
- The 2025 (FY2026) Government Shutdown: Economic Effects - EveryCRSReport.com
Backs: “BEA estimates the service stoppage shaved about 1 percentage point from Q4‑2025 GDP growth.”
- Trump aid freeze stirs chaos before it is blocked in court By Reuters
Backs: “OMB’s January 2025 order to pause grants and loans triggered confusion and court blocks; the White House rescinded the memo within days amid litigation.”
- The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036 | Congressional Budget Office
Backs: “CBO puts FY2026 at about $1.9 trillion (~5.8% of GDP) and estimates that recent trade policy changes raise projected deficits further over the next decade.”
- Migrant encounters at US-Mexico border at lowest level in over 50 years | Pew Research Center
Backs: “The White House has claimed “negative net migration,” but independent fact‑checking says that conclusion is not yet supported by official population data.”
- Final Rule: Rescission of the Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding and Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards Under the Clean Air Act | US EPA
Backs: “Supporters see cost savings and energy reliability; critics warn of health and climate harms.”
- Trump Administration Actions: Key Executive Orders and Policies
Backs: “The White House issued orders directing agencies to prepare for post‑quantum cryptography—an example of forward‑looking modernization many experts favor.”
- Partnership for Public Service survey finds Trump administration failing to effectively manage government, federal workers’ ability to serve the public significantly worse than a year ago - Partnership for Public Service
Backs: “With OPM delaying/canceling the 2025 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, the Partnership for Public Service fielded its own governmentwide survey and reported significantly worse scores on employees’ ability to serve the public compared with 2024.”
- Presidents, vice presidents, and first ladies | USAGov
Backs: “If you tell me which outcomes matter most to you—cost savings, service quality, rulemaking, immigration, climate, civil service independence—I can dig deeper into that slice with the latest data.”