Is the government improving under Trump? I'll gather recent data on his reforms and performance metrics to answer.
Whether Donald Trump is improving the US government depends on how "improving" is defined, and evaluations are sharply divided along partisan and metric lines.
What the Administration Says It Has Improved
The White House describes its agenda as reforming government to work for the people through innovation and efficiency:
•Launching America.gov as a single digital point of entry for Federal services, so Americans can "sign in, communicate in plain language, receive accurate answers, and, where authorized... complete government transactions without having to navigate multiple Federal agencies’ websites". The administration says this addresses the fact Americans spend around 10 billion hours each year dealing with federal paperwork.
•Reforming government to work for you: "President Trump has consistently prioritized innovation and efficiency, ensuring that Federal programs are efficient, transparent, and focused on delivering real value", with "sweeping reforms to eliminate waste, reduce bureaucracy, and restore accountability".
•Specific claims cited by the White House include:
•Backlog of veterans waiting for benefits has dropped by 74%
•Vice President Vance's Fraud Task Force has uncovered over $260 billion in fraud since January 2025
•Government efficiency efforts have saved an estimated $215 billion, equivalent to $1,335 per U.S. taxpayer
•Shrunk the federal bureaucracy by 10% in 2025, with other reporting noting a 12% reduction from September 2024 to January 2026 as the Department of Government Efficiency aggressively pursued downsizing
•Forced bureaucrats back into the office, with percentage of federal employees working in-office increasing 30% in second quarter of 2025
•Developed "retire.opm.gov" to automate federal retirements after decades of records being stored in an underground mine
•Cut 129 regulations for every 1 new rule issued
•Projected $1.5 trillion in savings in FY2026 from government-wide deregulatory mandate
The administration also points to other areas as government improvement, including border security: illegal alien population reduced by at least 2.3 million and negative net migration in 2025 for the first time in at least half a century.
Supporters argue these steps reduce waste, make services more accessible, and restore accountability.
Criticism and Counter-Evidence
Watchdog groups, some federal employees, and opposition groups dispute that government is functioning better:
•The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) public tally heralding billions in estimated savings was rife with errors and recommended data quality issues be prominently displayed. Other reviews found DOGE "consistently overestimated the amount of its cost-cutting efforts" and fell short of a promised $2 trillion, claiming $215 billion while experts questioned the savings.
•Critics say DOGE "didn't cut waste – it created it" and generated at least $21.7 BILLION in wasteful spending.
•A GAO report noted federal employees were paid nearly $7 billion not to work under DOGE effort while the workforce shrank 12 percent.
•DOGE has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, with Office of Personnel Management Director saying "That doesn't exist" when asked about DOGE's status.
•Public reaction has been described as overwhelmingly negative, marked by protests, with the initiative resulting in widespread layoffs and disrupted essential government services. Critics cited jeopardized essential services, potentially causing longer wait times at the Veterans Health Administration and disrupting FBI operations.
•Surveys of federal workforce and public opinion:
•"The data is clear: The Trump administration has received a failing grade on its management of our government from those who serve our country—the federal workforce" and a workforce "systemically harassed as well as impeded from providing essential services"
•A Quinnipiac University survey in late November 2025 found 54% of voters believed DOGE had a negative effect on the country
•An October 2025 Partnership survey found 59% said Trump's changes to the federal workforce will have a negative impact compared with only 28% who said positive, and 61% said government is headed in the wrong direction
Public Approval as a Proxy
Approval ratings for Trump's handling of his job, which include assessment of government performance, have declined in 2025-2026:
•Approval fell to a new low of 33% in a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released October 2026, the lowest recorded at any point in either term in that poll series
•Reuters/Ipsos polling also put approval at 31-33%, described as his lowest reading across either term
•Overall average steadily declined to 37 to 40% through 2025 to 2026
Supporters dismiss low approval as partisan or related to other issues like cost of living, while opponents cite it as evidence government is not improving.
Bottom Line
•If "improving" means smaller workforce, fewer regulations, centralized digital services, and claimed cost savings and fraud reduction, the administration points to measurable outputs it labels as historic.
•If "improving" means service continuity, workforce morale, accuracy of savings claims, and public trust, critics and watchdogs point to disrupted services, rehiring after layoffs, overstated savings, and majority-negative public sentiment.
Most independent assessments suggest the second term has produced a radical reshaping of government — simultaneously achieving stated efficiency goals like downsizing and deregulation while generating significant controversy over implementation, transparency, and long-term effects on service delivery.