Is the Trump administration improving government? I'll survey current assessments of its reforms and performance.
Whether Donald Trump is improving the U.S. government is disputed and depends on how "improvement" is measured. Evidence cited by supporters and critics points in different directions:
Arguments Cited For Improvement
•Creation of efficiency initiative: On the first day of his administration, President Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to modernize federal technology and improve efficiency and productivity across the federal government while cutting costs.
•Claimed savings: The White House states government efficiency efforts have saved an estimated $215 billion, equivalent to $1,335 per U.S. taxpayer. The administration also developed "retire.opm.gov" to automate federal retirements.
•Contract and real estate savings: The General Services Administration (GSA) announced it has driven more than $60 billion in federal contract savings since January 2025 as part of the push to shrink the federal real estate footprint.
•Workforce reduction: The administration reported nearly 317,000 federal employee departures, with other reports noting roughly 271,000 civilian positions shed in the past year. Supporters describe this as reversing government growth.
•Administration's broader claims: In official statements during 2026, the administration described Trump as restoring American strength, border security, prosperity and public order. On Dec 15, 2025, the White House released an article hailing what it called "Trump's Historic Border Victory," saying President Trump had turned the southern border from "open" to "total control". The White House has also claimed historic reductions in violent crime and illegal crossings.
A White House summary described the period as the "most consequential stretch of governing in modern American history" including sealing the border, cutting taxes, and focusing Washington on merit.
Arguments Cited Against Improvement
•Nonpartisan assessments of effectiveness: On the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's second inauguration, the Partnership for Public Service released a report concluding that workforce reductions have decreased the effectiveness of government services, not achieved stated efficiency goals and were conducted with minimal transparency.
•Spending increased: The report noted government spending increased between fiscal 2024 and 2025, despite the stated cost-cutting motivation. A Partnership survey also noted that despite claims by the White House that cuts saved money, the actual money spent by the federal government has increased since the administration took office.
•Questioned savings figures: While DOGE claimed billions in savings, the exact number has been widely questioned. Nearly half of the money DOGE claimed in canceled contracts — $27.4 billion — couldn't be verified, in large part because DOGE ignored its own methodology for calculating savings. A Government Accountability Office report concluded there's little evidence to support the $110 billion in savings claimed.
•Costs of workforce plan: The Trump administration spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government, a sixfold increase compared to 2023.
•Impact on services: The Partnership's analysis finds that unilateral actions have harmed the ability of government to meet public needs, and noted the 43 day shutdown that began in October — the longest in history — caused further disruption of critical government services. Specific examples cited include reorganizations at the Social Security Administration straining customer service and reductions at the National Weather Service hurting 24/7 forecasting operations.
•Public opinion polling:
•A Partnership survey found 52% oppose the administration's changes to the federal government compared with only 39% who are in support, and that 52% say the administration has not been effective in making the federal government more efficient compared with 42% who say they have.
•The perception that the federal government is wasteful is 75%, up from 61% last year.
•Overall approval for Trump averaged around 41% (net -13) in November 2025, with approval polling averages at 42% at the end of November, the lowest of his second term.
•Critical expert view: The Institute for Government argued Donald Trump and Elon Musk will fail to improve the government, while doing major damage to the effectiveness and legitimacy of the state.
Summary
Independent, comprehensive assessments have not reached a consensus that the government is overall "improved" since 2025, with clear activity and selective successes but substantial counter-evidence about governance quality. Whether the changes constitute improvement largely depends on the metric prioritized: reducing federal workforce size and claimed cost savings versus maintaining service delivery, transparency, and nonpartisan civil service capacity.