Nearly two-thirds of Americans do not trust the federal government, but that percentage has increased over the past two years, marking a period when trust in the nation's political institutions is at a record low.
A poll of 800 U.S. adults conducted this spring by the Partnership for Public Service found that only 23% have confidence in the government, down from 35% in 2022. The survey also found that more Americans believe the federal government is incompetent, and only 15% believe it is transparent.
“The decline in public trust in our most important democratic institution, the federal government, is alarming,” said Max Steer, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit good government organization.
The federal government, by its design and function, stands out as a largely apolitical organization of millions of workers who carry out policies set by the president or Congress. Federal workers are hired on the basis of merit, but the top echelons of cabinet agencies and departments are led by political appointees.
Of the 2.2 million working population, there are about 4,000 appointed employees in addition to their coworkers. Workers have had legal protections against nepotism and crony hiring since the early 1800s, but even the Founding Fathers recognized that above all else, the government needed to resemble and serve the people.
Related
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/TGEF5A3EUZGZPC2FO5A4BBX7BE.jpg)
Despite these measures aimed at maintaining a nonpartisan workforce, trust in government has been declining since the 1960s, and experts worry that growing distrust will affect voting and engagement, and ultimately make people less willing to engage with their government and provide feedback altogether.
It also comes at a time when federal agencies are trying to use modern technology to improve their relationships with constituents through more user-friendly websites, digital filing systems, in-person recruiting, etc. This appears to be working, as roughly half of respondents said they are satisfied with their personal interactions with government.
Still, concerted efforts by recruitment agencies to hire younger workers could be hampered by growing distrust, especially among 18- to 34-year-olds, with trust falling from 30% to 15% since 2022, the data shows.
The survey confirms findings that Republicans are even less likely to have confidence in their own government.
Government watchdog groups and lawmakers say attacks on civil servants are gaining momentum among conservatives. After Donald Trump sought to reclassify thousands of full-time employees as at-will, his campaign supporters and running mate have called for a similar process to overhaul the unelected corps of “bureaucrats.”
Related
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/3YOFX2VVHJFGVHVZGLUGQFZMYI.jpg)
Nearly two-thirds said “many” public servants refuse to cooperate with policies they disagree with, with about 79% of Republicans agreeing and 55% of Democrats agreeing. Less than a quarter said public servants are independents.
The Democratic Party tends to support the government, but even among its members, feelings of efficacy have declined over the past two years.
“This progressive system is broken in the modern era, and the only real solution is to reduce what national government can do — decentralize and privatize as much as possible and ensure that what remains is managed effectively according to the enduring principles detailed here,” write the authors of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, a conservative playbook for leaders of the next administration compiled by the Heritage Foundation.
The partnership warns that's the opposite of what the public wants.
“Importantly, Americans do not believe that further politicization of the civil service is a good way to improve the government's ability to address the nation's problems,” the survey found.
For example, about 75% believe the president should not be able to fire civil servants “for any reason,” and 90% say government is less effective when it is run by political motives.
Trust fell across all racial and ethnic groups surveyed, but especially among Hispanic and Latino respondents, whose members now trust government to 23% compared with 45% two years ago.
Overall, the number of respondents who believe that government is wasteful, corrupt and incompetent is greater than the number who believe that government is responsible, helpful and considerate of the needs of its people.
Molly Weisner is a reporter for The Federal Times covering labor, policy and contracts for government employees. She previously worked as a digital producer for USA Today and McClatchy and as a copy editor for The New York Times. Molly studied journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
