Voters are concerned about recent government spending cuts Ministry of Government Efficiency (Doge), even if they think that such efforts are needed.
Most people think that government debt is a crisis or a major problem, with nearly six in ten feeling it is big, or that almost all government spending is “wasteful and inefficient”.
However, the slim 51% majority opposed the drastically shrinking the number of government employees, about 56% opposed the work the Trump administration is identifying and reducing wasted spending, and another 65% fear that there is not enough thought and plan that has been cut.
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A small number of Republicans (39%) expressed concern about how the reduction was implemented by a large number of Democrats (88%) and independents (71%).
40% approved this job Elon Musk Working with Doge is being done, and 58% disagree. 93% of Democrats disagree with 70% of independents and 20% of Republicans.
When asked about funding for specific federal programs, most people believe that the government should increase funding for Social Security (63%), Medicare and Medicaid (58%) and medical research (53%), while minorities illustrate funding for military and defense (44%). The sentiment towards humanitarian foreign aid is even more different, as 23% want to increase funding for federal aid, 36% keep it the same level as last year, and 39% want to reduce it.
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Overall, a quarter of voters said someone in the family was affected by government cuts, and 79% of the group were worried about how to deal with the cuts.
Voters also have questions about the tariffs, as most believe the measures will make the products they buy more expensive (69%) and hurt the economy (53%). Perspectives are allocated on the job side, with 35% saying tariffs help protect U.S. jobs and 39% saying they are injured.
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53% say tariffs hurt the economy is a new high, up from 50% in January and down 39% in 2024.
When asked about specific tariffs, voters favored imposing them on Chinese products (55%), while they opposed tariffs on Mexico (56%) and Canada (61%).
Across the economy, more and more voters believe it is in poor condition, many believe inflation is out of control, and most people believe that recession is at least likely to be somewhat possible.
Since then, the view on the economy has become sour President Donald Trump Started his second term as 79% of voters gave negative numbers, compared with 70% two months ago. This increase in pessimism is largely due to the peak of 35 points among Democrats and the 18-point jump between independents. During the same period, Republicans’ assessment of the economy has actively shifted 22 points.
At the end of December, at the previous end of the President Joe Biden77% of people have negative views on the economy.
About 60% of voters’ evaluations of personal finance are negative, which is a better choice, compared to 62% in December.
While nearly half, 47% continue to say that inflation is “not control at all”, it is down from 56% at the beginning of 2023 (the last question was raised).
Seven out of 10 people say they expect a recession this year, including most Democrats (93%) and independents (72%) and half of Republicans (50%).
These emotions help explain why over four out of 10 points determine inflation (27%) or economy (16%) as the most important issue facing the country. Those that outperform the next most common problems: political division (14%), political leadership/corruption (10%) and immigration (8%). For reference, 3% quote government spending and 2% say tariffs.
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“Although the guerrilla administration changes have adjusted their attitudes, the public as a whole is still upset about the economy,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw. “The aggressiveness of Trump’s tariff policy and the pace of the governor’s action shocked Democrats and many independents. If Trump is to maintain public support, his approach must yield results.”
Typically, 43% are satisfied with the situation in the country. 12 points higher than December’s 31%. About 57% of people are unhappy, including 20% of Republicans. During Biden’s tenure (August 2022), the voter’s dissatisfaction rate reached 75%. In Trump’s first semester, it peaked at 66% (August 2020).
Likewise, major party shifts after Congress are driving these changing numbers. New investigations show that after Biden left serves, Democrats are happy with the direction of the country. Since Trump took office, 80% of Republicans are now satisfied, an increase of 55 points.
Trump began his first term with a job approval rate of 48% (February 2017). Today, his recognition rate reached a record 49%, and he also achieved it in his first semester (April 2020). For comparison, Biden’s highest approval was 56% in June 2021. Currently, 92% of Democrats oppose Trump, while the same number of Republicans approved (92%). Among Trump supporters in 2024, 97% are like the job he did as president.
Trump’s ratings scored 13 points in the economy (43% approved -56% opposed) and inflation was 18 points (40-58%). He received his best results in border security as most approved 56% (43% disapprove).
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The FOX News Survey was conducted on March 14-17, 2025 under the guidance of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research, and included interviews with a sample of 994 registered voters randomly selected from national voter documents. Respondents had a conversation with the on-site interviewer (123) and mobile phone (648) after receiving the text (123) or completed the survey online (223). The sampling error of the results based on the complete sample is ±3 percentage points. The sampling errors related to the results between subgroups are high. In addition to sampling errors, the wording and order of the problem also affects the results. Weights are often applied to age, race, education, and region variables to ensure that respondents’ demographics represent the registered voter population. Sources of developing weight goals include U.S. Community Survey, Fox News voter analysis, and voter file data.
Fox News’s Victoria Balara contributed to the report.
