Is Donald Trump improving the US government?

Is the Trump administration improving government? I'll survey recent reforms and how they're being judged across the spectrum.

Whether Donald Trump is improving the U.S. government depends on how improvement is measured. The administration and its supporters point to efficiency and deregulation gains, while critics and polling data point to disputed savings, service disruptions, and public disapproval.

What the administration claims

The White House describes the second term as "the most consequential stretch of governing in modern American history" and lists as achievements:

•Deregulation: President Trump revoked the Obama-era Endangerment Finding — described as the single-largest deregulatory action in American history, worth $1.3 trillion, and a government-wide deregulatory mandate projected to save the U.S. economy $1.5 trillion in FY2026 alone. The 2026 regulatory plan identifies 702 rules slated for elimination.

•Government efficiency and workforce: The Trump Administration’s government efficiency reforms have already saved an estimated $215 billion — about $1,335 per taxpayer — and shrunk the federal workforce to its lowest level since 1966. A separate DOGE report as of Jan. 1, 2026 also cites $215 billion in savings, or roughly $1,335 per taxpayer.

•Services for veterans: Under the Trump Administration, the backlog of veterans waiting for benefits has dropped by 74%. As of July 2026, the administration dropped the backlog of veterans waiting for VA benefits to below 70,000 for the first time since 2020, and eliminated the backlog for CHAMPVA healthcare after inheriting more than 70,000 unprocessed applications.

•Management agenda: The President's Management Agenda includes goals to eliminate "woke" programs, downsize the government workforce and real estate portfolio, implement workforce reforms and modernize government technology, and forced bureaucrats back into the office, with the percentage of federal employees working in-office increasing 30% in the second quarter of 2025.

What independent analyses and oversight reports find

•Cost of workforce cuts: The Government Accountability Office found the Trump administration spent $9.5 billion paying federal workers not to work in 2025 as part of its plan to shrink the government, a sixfold increase in paid leave salary costs compared to 2023. The spending was tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which spent an estimated $9.5 billion in 2025 paying federal employees not to work.

•Disputed savings: DOGE initially aimed to eliminate $2 trillion in waste, later reduced to $150 billion, and by dissolution claimed $215 billion saved. Independent analyses found less than 40% of total savings broken down into individual items and argued methodology such as counting projected contract values overstated savings. The administration has no plans to do a final accounting.

•Workforce reduction impact: DOGE succeeded in reducing the federal workforce by 9% in less than 10 months, the largest peacetime cut since World War II, but this had limited impact on overall spending because most federal expenditures are tied to entitlement programs.

•Spending levels: Despite claims of savings, the actual money spent by the federal government has increased by $84 billion since the administration took office.

Public opinion

Polling shows divided and largely negative assessments of government handling:

•A Partnership for Public Service survey found 52% of the public oppose the administration’s changes to the federal government compared with only 39% who are in support, and far more people say the changes have made their lives or communities worse (51%) than better (28%).

•52% of Americans 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.

•National approval polls in late 2026 put Trump's overall job approval at 34%, with other polls showing 61% disapprove and only 17% approve of handling of cost of living.

Supporters in the same survey cited making government more efficient (55%) and cutting spending (45%) as top reasons for support, while opponents cited harm to government services and harm to the economy as leading concerns.

Other survey findings noted views of civil servants improved to the most positive levels since 2021, with 65% saying civil servants are competent, and 76% saying a nonpartisan civil service is important for democracy.

In short, the administration points to measurable reductions in workforce size, regulatory burden, and specific backlogs like VA benefits as improvements in efficiency. Critics and oversight findings argue net savings are unverified or offset by new costs, and that service delivery and public perception of efficiency have not improved.

Citations (3)

1whitehouse.govGovernment
President Trump Delivers Historic Results for the American People in Under Two Years
Backs: “The administration and its supporters point to efficiency and deregulation gains, while critics and polling data point to disputed savings, service disruptions, and public disapproval. What the administration claims”
2ainvest.comNot yet classified
Fiscal Chaos: Trump's DOGE Effort Falls Short of Savings Promise
Backs: “The spending was tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which spent an estimated $9.5 billion in 2025 paying federal employees not to work. Disputed savings: DOGE initially aimed to eliminate $2 trillion in waste, later reduced to $150 billion, and by dissolution claimed $215 billion saved.”
3ourpublicservice.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Steady Opposition: Public disapproval of Trump administration funding and workforce cuts remains strong
Backs: “Workforce reduction impact: DOGE succeeded in reducing the federal workforce by 9% in less than 10 months, the largest peacetime cut since World War II, but this had limited impact on overall spending because most federal expenditures are tied to entitlement programs. Spending levels: Despite claims of savings, the…”