The Justice Department's net favorability has gone into the negatives due to dissatisfaction from Republicans. Glowimages / Getty Images
Americans mostly like federal agencies, but there’s a partisan gap
A research nonprofit found that Republicans surveyed were more likely to have more negative views of several agencies than in the past.
Most Americans held positive views of the majority of federal agencies in a recent Pew Research Center survey, but partisan points of view permeated the poll.
In all, a preponderance of approximately 9,400 U.S. adults in July responded more favorably than unfavorably to 13 of the 16 agencies in the survey, with 10 having net favorability ratings of 15 percentage points or more.
The top three agencies, based on net favorability, were the National Park Service (+69), NASA (+55) and U.S. Postal Service (+51). On the other hand, the trio of agencies with higher unfavorable views were the Education Department (-1), Justice Department (-1) and IRS (-12).
Pew conducted similar surveys in 2023 and 2020, but comprehensive results from the 2023 survey are no longer available online and the 2020 survey featured different question wording and polling methods. As a result, it said direct comparisons can’t be made between the 2024 and 2020 results.
Still, the research center reported that: “Republicans are more likely today than in the past to have substantially more negative than positive views of several agencies.”
DOJ’s overall net favorability dropped from 2023 when it was +8 points, driven by increased dissatisfaction among Republicans.
The federal cases against former President Donald Trump over election interference and his handling of classified documents are being led by special counsel Jack Smith. However Republicans have criticized DOJ over the prosecutions, arguing they are politically motivated.
Also, House Republicans in June voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide audio of the special counsel interview with President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents. DOJ provided a transcript of the interview, but Biden exerted executive privilege over the audio recording.
Democrats and those who lean Democratic had net positive opinions about all 16 agencies in the survey. In contrast, Republicans and Republican leaners only felt more positive than negative about five agencies (NPS, NASA, USPS, Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs Department).
Agencies with the highest unfavorability ratings among Republicans were the IRS (65%), Education Department (64%) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (59%).
CDC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has come under fire by many Republicans.
In 2020, when Pew used different question wording and polling methods, 84% of Republicans and those who lean Republican had a positive view of CDC and 76% felt the same toward DOJ.
While the public might view individual agencies favorably, its view of the federal government as a whole is rather negative. Pew reported that 77% of Americans in 2023 held an unfavorable opinion toward the federal government.
Similarly, a 2024 survey conducted by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service found that only 23% of respondents trust the federal government.