As the federal government continues to restructure under the Trump administration, the American people continue to hold favorable opinions of federal agencies and departments, such as the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Departments of Education and Justice, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.
About 53 percent of participants held a favorable view of the Department of Education, compared to 42 percent who had an unfavorable view—the highest such percentage of all departments and agencies surveyed. Roughly two-thirds of participants had favorable views of the CIA and Federal Reserve, and 60 percent favorably viewed the EPA. Pew found that, “in attitudes toward other agencies and departments, the partisan gap has narrowed considerably, driven by more positive views among Republicans.”
Pew also noted a striking decline in the number of Republicans who favorably viewed the FBI: “While 78 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a favorable opinion of the FBI, 55 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners say the same,” the report reads. That marks a 16 percent drop among Republicans since 2010, according to Pew.
According to a poll released by Reuters/Ipsos released last week, this decline may relate to pending investigations conducted by government agencies. About 73 percent of Republicans agreed that “members of the FBI and Department of Justice are working to delegitimize Trump through politically motivated investigation,” according to the poll.
The Pew Research Center report’s analysis is based on phone calls with 1,009 adults, conducted in both English and Spanish, from February 7th to February 11th.
