In recent weeks, Townhall has reported how the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has had multiple standoffs with government agencies. In some cases, these standoffs turned into lawsuits. That happened this week with the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and previously with the with the U.S. African Development Foundation.
This week, a poll showed that the majority of Americans believe that the government’s spending is wasteful. Despite this, many respondents expressed concern about how DOGE is making its cuts.
According to polling done by Fox News, 40 percent of voters approve of DOGE’s cuts, while 58 percent disapprove:
When asked about funding for specific federal programs, majorities think the government should increase funding for Social Security (63%), Medicare and Medicaid (58%), and medical research (53%), while a large minority says the same about funding the military and national defense (44%). Sentiment is more mixed on humanitarian foreign aid, as 23% want to increase federal funding on aid, 36% would keep it at the same level as last year, and 39% want to decrease it.
Overall, one in four voters says someone in their family has been significantly affected by the government cuts, and among that group, 79% are concerned about how the cuts have been handled.
Broken down by political party, among Democrats, 6 percent approve of the work Elon Musk is doing with DOGE and 93 percent disapprove, while 78 percent of Republicans approve and 20 percent disapprove. Seventy percent of Independents disapprove of the work Musk is doing with DOGE.
Thirty-nine percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats, and 71 percent of Independents indicated that they are concerned about how the reductions are being implemented.
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Regarding tariffs, respondents indicated that they think the Trump administration’s measures will make products that they buy more expensive (69 percent) and hurt the economy (53 percent). Thirty-five percent of respondents said that tariffs help protect U.S. jobs. On the other hand, 39 percent of respondents said that they hurt.
Voters in the poll favor imposing tariffs on products coming from China (55 percent) but oppose tariffs on Mexico (56 percent) and Canada (61 percent).
