Is Donald Trump improving the US government?

Both sidesSays it is contested

Donald Trump's record on government is contested — I'll pull recent data on efficiency, economic and approval metrics to weigh it.

Whether Donald Trump is improving the U.S. government depends on the metric used and political perspective, with data showing both claimed improvements and measured declines in performance/satisfaction:

Arguments / Data Points Cited As Improvement:

•Smaller federal workforce: According to federal jobs reports, the government has shed roughly 271,000 civilian positions in the past year, putting President Trump within striking distance of his stated goal to cut 300,000 federal jobs . Other data puts the net decrease at about 264,000 employees since the start of the second administration . FactCheck reported federal government employment has fallen by 328,000, or 10.9%, since he took office . Supporters describe this as a reversal of government growth and acknowledgment that government had become unwieldy .

•Cost savings and deregulation claims: DOGE claims it saved $215 billion, or $1,335.40 per taxpayer, with its cuts . The White House claims 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 . It also claims a government-wide deregulatory mandate is projected to save the U.S. economy $1.5 trillion in FY2026 alone .

•Performance management overhaul: The administration has proposed and finalized rules to overhaul how federal employees' performance is evaluated, including limiting how many employees can receive top ratings and eliminating ability to grieve poor performance ratings and allowing agencies to limit how many senior executives can achieve top ratings , described as aiming to boost performance .

•Border and immigration enforcement: The administration reports reduced Southwest border apprehensions to the lowest levels since the 1970s — down 87–96% year-over-year and achieved negative net migration in 2025 for the first time in at least 50 years .

•Economic headline numbers cited by supporters: Supporters point to real GDP roaring to 4.3% in Q3 2025 as result of deregulation, tax cuts and other policies.

Arguments / Data Points Cited As Worsening:

•Public perception that government works worse: Pew Research found a narrow majority of Americans (53%) say Trump is making the way the federal government works worse, nearly double the share who say he is making it better (27%) . A Partnership for Public Service survey found 51% said the government is operating "worse" now than it was a year ago, while only 33% said it is operating "better" , and 54% oppose the changes made to the federal government by the Trump administration .

•Decline in citizen satisfaction: Americans' satisfaction with public-facing services provided by the federal government has fallen for the first time in five years, according to findings by the American Customer Satisfaction Index . ACSI reports that citizen satisfaction has fallen to a score of 68.6 out of 100 – a 2.6% decrease .

•Link to workforce cuts: The ACSI director of research said the data shows a "pretty clear link" between the decline of satisfaction scores and deep cuts in the federal workforce driven by DOGE , noting if you start the workforce reduction before technologies are fully embedded, it can be disruptive and people can feel slower, less efficient service .

•Criticism of DOGE efficiency: Critics claim DOGE generated at least $21.7 BILLION in wasteful spending , and a GAO report found the administration paid outgoing employees an estimated nearly $7 billion to not work as it encouraged them to leave federal service . DOGE was officially dissolved eight months ahead of schedule by November 2025 .

•Overall approval ratings: National polling shows mixed to negative overall evaluation. One Economist/YouGov poll found 41% approve while 55% disapprove . Other polling averages put approval around 34-37% in late 2025-2026. Pew found 53% saying Trump is making government worse was up from earlier in term, and even among Republicans, the share saying he is making things better fell 21 points, while 16% of Republicans now say he is making things worse, up from 7% .

In short, the administration and supporters measure improvement as smaller government, lower headcount, claimed savings, deregulation, and tighter border control. Opponents and many independents in polls measure it as lower service satisfaction, loss of institutional knowledge — 64% concerned about loss of experience and knowledge — and overall functioning perceived as worse.

Citations (3)

1nextgov.comNews and mediaquality 0.85
Federal workforce cuts linked to lower satisfaction scores across government services
Backs: “Smaller federal workforce: According to federal jobs reports, the government has shed roughly 271,000 civilian positions in the past year, putting President Trump within striking distance of his stated goal to cut 300,000 federal jobs .”
statistic, article, neutral. Claim: Federal government shed roughly 271,000 civilian positions in the past year, near Trump's goal of cutting 300,000 federal jobs.
2pewresearch.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Views of Trump’s policies and confidence in ability to handle issues | Pew Research Center
Backs: “Performance management overhaul: The administration has proposed and finalized rules to overhaul how federal employees' performance is evaluated, including limiting how many employees can receive top ratings and eliminating ability to grieve poor performance ratings and allowing agencies to limit how many senior…”
evidence, article, neutral. Claim: Administration finalized rules overhauling federal employee performance evaluation, limiting top ratings and eliminating ability to grieve poor ratings.
3ourpublicservice.orgNonprofits and think tanks
New Partnership for Public Service polling shows majority of the American public concerned about cuts to the federal workforce and government services
Backs: “Public perception that government works worse: Pew Research found a narrow majority of Americans (53%) say Trump is making the way the federal government works worse, nearly double the share who say he is making it better (27%) . A Partnership for Public Service survey found 51% said the government is operating…”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: 53% say Trump is making government work worse, nearly double the 27% who say better; 51% say government operates worse than a year ago.