WASHINGTON — Nine months into President Donald Trump’s second term, a fresh Gallup poll is laying bare a troubling trend: Americans’ confidence in major federal agencies has hit rock bottom, with approval ratings tumbling across the board and signaling deep unease with the administration’s overhaul of the “deep state.”
The survey, released Friday and capturing responses from over 1,000 adults in September 2025, shows six pivotal institutions—the IRS, FBI, CIA, EPA, CDC, and FDA—grappling with historic lows, a stark contrast to the relatively stable or improving marks under previous presidents.
The poll’s findings couldn’t come at a worse time for Trump, who’s spent his term railing against bureaucratic bloat while pushing Project 2025-inspired cuts and purges.
Details of Research
Overall, just 34% of respondents rated the federal government positively on average—down from 41% in 2024 under Biden and a far cry from the 50% high during the Obama era.
“These numbers reflect a profound distrust in institutions that Americans once relied on,” said Gallup analyst Megan Brennan, who noted the sharpest drops among independents and young voters.
“It’s not just partisanship; it’s a broader erosion of faith in government’s ability to deliver without bias.”
Breaking it down by agency, the IRS saw the steepest plunge, with approval cratering to 22% from 35% in 2024—a 13-point nosedive that experts tie to Trump’s vows for audits on “high-tax liberals” and IRS workforce slashes.
The FBI followed at 28%, hammered by Director Kash Patel’s high-profile firings and the “Arctic Frost” surveillance scandal involving Republican senators.
The CIA dipped to 31%, amid whispers of politicized intelligence on foreign threats.
Environmental and health watchdogs fared no better: The EPA’s rating fell to 29%, linked to deregulation rollbacks, while the CDC and FDA languished at 32% and 30%, respectively, scarred by vaccine mandate reversals and food safety lapses.
Partisan divides are glaring. Republicans, buoyed by Trump’s anti-bureaucracy crusade, gave agencies a tepid 45% average approval—up slightly from last year—but that’s cold comfort when Democrats tanked to 18% and independents hovered at 25%. “This isn’t sustainable,” Brennan added.
“Agencies like the FDA, which polled at 62% in 2020 amid COVID leadership, are now symbols of division rather than competence.”
The Gallup data echoes a string of related surveys painting a picture of institutional fatigue.
Economic Data Also Shows Concerns
A Pew Research Center poll from late September 2025 found 59% of Americans believe the federal government is “too careless” in its cuts to agencies, with 55% disapproving of Trump’s handling of independent bodies like the EPA.
That lines up with a Reuters/Ipsos survey showing Trump’s overall approval dipping to 41%, with 54% saying the economy feels off-track under his watch—exacerbated by shutdown threats that furloughed 800,000 workers last month.
Over in the Senate, HELP Committee Democrats released a report warning AI could wipe out 100 million jobs, slamming Big Tech’s “war on workers” while calling for agency protections—yet another sign of eroding trust in federal oversight.
And a Quinnipiac University poll from early October pegged agency confidence at multi-year lows, with the IRS at a dismal 19% among non-Republicans.
“It’s a vicious cycle,” said Pew’s Carroll Dohahue. “Cuts breed incompetence perceptions, which justify more cuts—it’s hollowing out public faith.”
Will The Trump Administration Instill Confidence in Americans?
For Trump, who’s branded agencies as “radical left” strongholds ripe for “draining the swamp,” the numbers sting amid midterms.
His Truth Social rants about “Democrat Agencies” as “political SCAMs” haven’t helped, with a Silver Bulletin tracker showing his approval steady at 40% but agency-specific trust lagging far behind.
As Republicans defend slim majorities, these polls could fuel Democratic attacks on governance chaos.
Brennan summed it up: “Americans want agencies that work for them, not against them. Under Trump, too many feel like the opposite.”
With fiscal cliffs looming and probes into firings like those at the FBI, the administration’s next moves could either rebuild trust—or accelerate the freefall.
The question now is what will it take for the Trump Administration to instill confidence in Americans again?
Also Read: Republicans Face Growing Backlash as Voters Blame Them for Govt. Shutdown
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