January 24, 2025
The public is divided over Donald Trump’s creation of an advisory body on government efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Almost 40% disapprove, while about a third approve.
About half the public have an unfavorable opinion of Musk (52%), while 36% have a favorable opinion. Just hours after Trump’s inauguration, Ramaswamy announced he was stepping down from his leadership role on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Republicans are much more likely than Democrats or independents to approve of the creation of this advisory board, and of Musk himself.
About 6 in 10 believe that the president’s reliance on billionaires or family members for advice about government policy is a bad thing. However, 53% say having members of the opposing party weigh in on government policy is a good thing.
Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to oppose relying on billionaires or family members for advice on government policy. And Democrats are more likely than either independents or Republicans to feel getting the views of members of the opposing party is a good thing. Though nearly half of Republicans also feel it’s a good thing.
Although DOGE has yet to be implemented, the issues it will try to address are seen as major problems by the public. Majorities believe that corruption, inefficiency, and red tape are major problems within the federal government. However, just a third feel that civil servants unwilling to implement the president’s agenda is a major problem.
Republicans are more likely to believe corruption, inefficiency, red tape, and defiant civil servants are all major problems within the federal government. However, many Democrats and independents also consider government corruption and inefficiency as major problems.
Even with those concerns about government operations, most people think the government is spending too little in key areas such as education, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, assistance to the poor, or border security.
And there is little support for several proposals to change government operations. Only about a quarter of the public support moving federal agencies out of D.C., eliminating federal jobs, or eliminating entire federal agencies. About 4 in 10 favor requiring federal workers to work in the office 5 days a week. Republicans are more likely than Democrats or independents to support these proposals.
The nationwide poll was conducted January 9-13, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,147 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Although support for DOGE is mixed, a majority believe corruption, inefficiency, and red tape are major problems.” (January 2025). [https://apnorc.org/projects/although-support-for-doge-is-mixed-a-majority-believe-corruption-inefficiency-and-red-tape-are-major-problems/]
