Americans want smaller government but new polls shows whether they like how Musk, DOGE, are going about it

Americans like the idea of downsizing the federal government but are far from thrilled with how billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are carrying out cuts to the federal bureaucracy, according to new national polling.

President Donald Trump, after winning back the White House in last November’s election, created DOGE with marching orders to overhaul and downsize the federal government.

Trump named Musk, the world’s richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, to steer the organization.

DOGE has swept through federal agencies during the first two months of the Trump administration, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending. Additionally, it has taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive downsizing of employees. The moves by DOGE grabbed tons of national attention and have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response.

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Elon Musk, who steers President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which is cutting government fraud and slashing the federal workforce, wields a chainsaw during an appearance at CPAC on Feb. 20, 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Jose Luis Magana)

American voters, by a 46%-40% margin in an NBC News poll conducted March 7-11 and released on Sunday, said creating DOGE was a good idea rather than a bad idea. 

However, when asked about their feelings towards DOGE, 47% of respondents held negative views, with 41% saying they saw DOGE in a positive light.

It is a similar story in a Reuters/IPSOS survey conducted March 11-12.

By a 59%-39% margin, Americans questioned in the poll said they supported downsizing the federal government.

NEW POLLS SPELL TROUBLE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

However, 59% opposed the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers, with 38% supporting the moves by the Trump administration, and by a 50%-38% margin, they said Trump and Musk had gone too far in cutting federal spending.

Trump has repeatedly praised Musk for his efforts with DOGE, including during a primetime address earlier this month to a joint-session of Congress.

During an interview a week ago on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump called Musk a “real patriot” whose efforts have “opened a lot of eyes.”

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., left, and President Donald Trump in a Tesla Model S vehicle on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photographer: Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

However, Americans do not hold such rosy views of Musk, according to the surveys. Only 39% of those questioned in the NBC News poll had a positive view of Musk, with 51% holding a negative view.

He was underwater at 38% favorable and 59% unfavorable in the Reuters/Ipsos survey.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS SHOW

According to a Quinnipiac University national poll conducted March 6-10, 60% disapproved of the way Musk and DOGE are dealing with workers employed by the federal government, with only 36% approving.

The survey’s release noted that “54% of voters think Elon Musk and DOGE are hurting the country, while 40% think they are helping the country.”

President Donald Trump, right, is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

A CNN poll conducted March 6-9 indicated that more than six in 10 thought the cuts by DOGE would go too far and that important federal programs would be shut down, with 37% saying the cuts wouldn’t go far enough in eliminating fraud and waste in the government.

It appears Trump is well aware of the negative reviews for Musk and DOGE.

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Two weeks ago, Trump told the Cabinet secretaries that they, rather than Musk, would be in charge of department downsizing at their agencies.

In a social media post, Trump said they would use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” in making government staffing cuts.