Poll: Billionaires in the Trump Administration, DOGE, and Spending Cuts

This Navigator Research report covers how Americans are reacting to recent actions to cut government spending.

Three in five Americans are concerned about recent cuts to government programs, with even higher levels of concern about specific cuts such as to health care programs for women and veterans, fighting diseases, and the FAA.

Three in five Americans are concerned about the Trump administration giving Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) the power to make significant spending cuts and lay off thousands of government employees (62 percent concerned – 33 percent not concerned). The most concerning specific cuts to Americans include cuts to health care for veterans (68 percent concerned), programs that keep women and children safe from abuse (67 percent concerned), and cuts to disaster relief for events like wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes (67 percent concerned). 63 percent of Americans are also concerned about cuts to funding and staff at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

• Seven in ten are worried about the Trump administration’s actions leading to bigger cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security (69 percent worried, including 49 percent who are “very” worried) and increased costs from new tariffs (72 percent worried, including 48 percent who are “very” worried). 

• A plurality of Americans say Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration makes them view Trump more negatively (33 percent more positive – 45 percent more negative), including among independents by 27 points (19 percent more positive – 46 percent more negative). 

• From a list of groups, Americans are most concerned by tech CEOs like Elon Musk and right-wing extremists being involved with the Trump administration (37 percent and 31 percent, respectively). Americans are most likely to describe Musk and billionaires working with the Trump administration as “dangerous” (34 percent), “power-hungry” (34 percent), and “corrupt” (31 percent); in a separate question, “they are acting like they’re above the law” is the top phrase that troubles Americans about what Trump, Musk, and other billionaires are doing in the Trump administration (33 percent).

Progressive rebuttals to conservative arguments for broad government spending should emphasize important programs Americans are already concerned are at risk of being cut, and are further bolstered by acknowledging there is waste in government that should be cut.

Before any information about the Trump administration’s spending cuts, Americans are split on whether Trump is making the government work better (49 percent) or worse (51 percent); however, after messaging, Americans believe Trump is making the government work worse by an 8-point margin (46 percent work better – 54 percent work worse). A narrow majority agrees more with progressive messaging that “Trump and Republicans are recklessly cutting critical funding that Americans rely on” and are threatening “funding for cancer research, food for hungry kids, and protections for people who have been scammed by big banks and credit card companies” over conservative defenses of big spending cuts (net +4; 52 percent progressive argument – 48 percent conservative argument, including net +6 among independents). This argument becomes even more effective when also acknowledging that “everyone knows there is waste and government that should be cut” among all Americans (net +12; 56 percent progressive argument – 44 percent conservative argument), particularly among independents (net +28: 64 percent progressive argument – 36 percent conservative argument).

• More than one in three Republicans who do not identify with the MAGA movement agree more with the progressive argument against Trump’s spending cuts (37 percent).

Over three in five are concerned about President Trump giving tax breaks to his billionaire friends while making spending cuts to programs Americans rely on.

64 percent are concerned that Trump will create new tax breaks for billionaires while making massive spending cuts to programs that regular people rely on, including 91 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of independents, and 33 percent of Republicans. 62 percent are also concerned that President Trump is giving billionaires in his administration the power to act like kings, with no checks over their actions and giving them power that they shouldn’t have — like taking control of confidential health and tax records. 

• By 28 points, non-MAGA Republicans are concerned about President Trump giving too much power to billionaires and giving them access to confidential information (net +28; 50 percent concerned – 22 percent not concerned).