Is the Trump administration improving government? I'll gather recent performance data to give you a balanced look.
Whether Donald Trump is improving the US government depends on how "improving" is measured, and assessments differ sharply.
Arguments and claims that he is improving government
Administration self-assessment: President Trump gave his second-term performance an A+, saying "In government work, in economic terms, in all aspects, I give us an A+".
Government efficiency initiative: On January 20, 2025, Trump issued an executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to modernize federal technology and cut waste. The initiative was intended to reduce federal spending and streamline government operations, including shrinking the federal workforce and reviewing agency spending.
Supporters point to actions such as:
•Requiring agency heads to consult with DOGE teams on deregulatory efforts and creating a centralized technological system in every agency to record contract and grant awards
•Deregulation described as slashing eight old rules for every new one, saving households $3,100 annually
Border and immigration enforcement: The administration cites border security as a success:
•Illegal immigration across the Southwest border fell to the lowest level in 50 years in 2025
•The number of people apprehended at the border between October 2024 and October 2025 fell 87% from recent-year averages
•In February — Trump's first month in office — illegal border crossings fell to the lowest level ever recorded, down 94% from last February
•U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 5 straight months of 0 releases at the border as of September 2025
Economic metrics cited by the administration and Treasury:
•Average domestic crude oil production in 2025 rose by 350,000 barrels per day relative to 2024, with the U.S. described as the world's largest producer of petroleum products and natural gas
•Real median household income reached $87,460 in 2025, the highest on record dating to 1967
•The official poverty rate fell to 10.2%, the lowest ever recorded
•Administration releases credit 671,000 net jobs added since January 2025
•Revised data showed real GDP growth of 3.8 percent in Q2 2025
Arguments and claims that he is not improving government
Approval and public confidence:
•As of October 8, 2026, Trump's net approval was -21.9 after hitting an all-time low of -23.5
•Pew Research Center found Trump's approval at 37% a year into his second administration, down from 40% in the fall, with 50% saying the administration's actions have been worse than expected vs 21% better
•Two-thirds of poll respondents said Trump is going too far in trying to expand the powers of the presidency and 58% said he is going too far in targeting political opponents
Criticism of DOGE and workforce cuts:
•According to the Government Accountability Office, the administration spent $9.5 billion in 2025 paying federal employees who were not working as it pursued efforts to shrink the bureaucracy
•DOGE initially aimed to reduce spending by up to $2 trillion by July 4, 2026, but later lowered its projected savings estimate for fiscal year 2026 from $1 trillion to $150 billion
•By late 2025, according to the Office of Personnel Management, DOGE was no longer a "centralized entity"
•The GAO found the administration wasted as much as $38 million paying salaries and benefits for idled civil rights staff while dismissing 90% of student discrimination complaints
Institutional and democratic concerns:
•Critics have raised concerns that with Trump's return in 2025, actions such as attacking judges who challenge policies and usurping some basic powers of Congress have raised questions about the health of U.S. democracy
•Human Rights Watch described the second term as "a relentless and pervasive assault on rights and freedoms" and said the administration is "actively dismantling foundational pillars of US democracy"
•Analysis cited institutional subordination and threats to the independence of the Federal Reserve
Use of shutdown as policy tool:
During the 2025 government shutdown, Trump said Republicans must use the opportunity of the shutdown to "clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud", and later said Republicans must use the shutdown to "clear out dead wood, waste and fraud" as layoffs were warned to be imminent. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated roughly 750,000 federal workers would be furloughed daily during the shutdown, a loss of $400 million daily in wages.
In short, supporters measure improvement by border enforcement numbers, deregulation, energy production and certain economic indicators, while critics measure it by approval ratings, costs of workforce restructuring, and perceived erosion of checks and balances and independent institutions.