Public sours on Musk’s role, is skeptical that government is cutting waste

 

Americans Grow Increasingly Critical of Elon Musk’s Role in Trump Administration, Poll Finds

Americans are showing growing dissatisfaction with Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. The survey reveals widespread skepticism about Musk’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiatives and the administration’s claims of cutting waste and fraud.

According to the poll, only 35% of Americans approve of how Musk is handling his duties, while 57% disapprove. His disapproval rating has climbed from 49% in February, while his approval has remained relatively stable, moving only slightly from 34% two months ago. Musk is currently less popular than President Donald Trump, who holds a 39% approval rating and a 55% disapproval rating.

The rise in disapproval spans nearly every demographic, including significant increases among adults under 30 (up from 51% to 62%), political independents who do not lean toward either party (from 41% to 57%), and Americans without college degrees (from 44% to 54%).

Musk’s DOGE Service claims to have cut wasteful and fraudulent government spending, recently announcing $150 billion in identified savings for the 2026 fiscal year — a figure far below earlier targets. Yet the public remains unconvinced: while 43% of Americans believe federal waste has decreased under Trump, 31% say it has stayed the same, and 25% say it has increased. On the issue of fraud, Americans are divided: 34% say it has increased, 32% say it has decreased, and another 34% believe it has remained unchanged.

The poll also highlights strong public resistance to major spending cuts: 77% of Americans oppose reducing federal funding for medical research, and 62% oppose freezing foreign aid programs that provide food and healthcare to impoverished countries. Previous reporting by The Washington Post indicated that funding for the National Institutes of Health has declined by nearly 60% since Trump assumed office. In addition, DOGE recently terminated critical food and emergency medical aid programs across Africa and the Middle East and effectively shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

More broadly, nearly six in ten adults express concern that Trump may reduce the size and role of government too much — a mirror image of concerns raised in late 2021 about President Joe Biden expanding government reach.

Musk’s future in the White House remains uncertain. Tensions with other Trump advisers have surfaced, and profits at his car company, Tesla, have sharply declined. Musk told investors on Tuesday that his "time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly" beginning next month.

The Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll was conducted online from April 18-22, surveying 2,464 U.S. adults. Respondents were selected through the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, a nationally representative panel recruited via random sampling methods. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus two percentage points.