Americans are split over what impact Donald Trump will have on the way the federal government works: About as many say he’ll improve it as say he’ll make it worse. And more Americans expect ethics and honesty in government to fall (rather than rise) with his administration.

The public is also split – and divided along partisan lines – in its assessments of Vice President JD Vance, Trump’s other high-level appointments and most congressional leaders. Elon Musk is viewed more negatively than positively.

Trump’s influence on the way government works

When it comes to the way the federal government in Washington works, 41% of Americans say Trump will make things better, while a nearly identical share (42%) say he will make things worse. Far fewer (17%) say his impact will be an equal mix of better and worse.

• 76% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say Trump will improve the way government works.
• By contrast, 78% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say Trump will worsen the way government works.

More Americans expect ethics and honesty in the federal government to fall, rather than rise, with Trump as president

Nearly half of Americans (47%) think the overall level of ethics and honesty in the federal government will fall with Trump as president, while 31% say ethics and honesty will rise. Roughly two-in-ten (22%) say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government will stay about the same.

Republicans and Democrats diverge over how the level of ethics and honesty in government will shift during Trump’s administration:

• 59% of Republicans say it will rise with Trump as president, 29% say it will not change and 11% say it will fall.
• By comparison, 82% of Democrats say it will fall with Trump as president, 12% say it will stay the same and 5% say it will rise.

Views of Trump’s Cabinet and other high-level selections

Public approval of Trump’s Cabinet picks and other high-level appointees closely tracks his overall approval rating: 46% of Americans say they approve of Trump’s selections, while 52% disapprove.

Roughly eight-in-ten Republicans (83%) approve of Trump’s choices, compared with just 11% of Democrats.

Public evaluations of Trump’s staffing choices today are similar to views of his choices on the eve of his first term. In a phone survey conducted in the weeks before he first took office eight years ago, 41% of Americans said they approved of Trump’s appointments.

By contrast, clear majorities of Americans approved of the Cabinet and high-level appointments of Trump’s recent predecessors in surveys conducted as each began their terms: George H.W. Bush (59% approved), Bill Clinton (64%), George W. Bush (58%), Barack Obama (66%) and Joe Biden (57%).

Views of Vice President JD Vance

Americans are divided over Vice President JD Vance’s qualifications to be president: 47% say he is qualified, while 49% say he is not.

Evaluations of former Vice President Kamala Harris were also fairly evenly split as she took office in early 2021 (50% qualified, 47% not). Former Vice President Mike Pence was, on balance, seen as qualified by the public (54% qualified, 30% not) in a phone survey conducted shortly after the 2016 election.

Evaluations of Vance largely track with partisanship: 80% of Republicans say Vance is qualified for the job of president, while 82% of Democrats say he is not.

Vance’s influence in the administration

A majority of Americans (58%) say Vance will have about the right amount of influence within the Trump administration. About three-in-ten (28%) say he will have too little influence, and even fewer (13%) say he will have too much.

• Republicans overwhelmingly expect Vance to have the right amount of influence within the administration: 82% say this.
• Democrats are divided in their views: 43% say Vance will have too little influence, 34% say he will have the right amount of influence and 22% say he will have too much.

Favorability of congressional leadership

House Speaker Mike Johnson

Three-in-ten adults rate House Speaker Mike Johnson favorably, while about as many (33%) view him unfavorably. Roughly a third (35%) say they have never heard of Johnson. (Congressional leaders weren’t identified by title or party in the survey.)

Johnson’s ratings have improved somewhat since spring of last year, when 24% rated him positively and 37% rated him negatively.

This improvement is largely due to shifting Republican views: 51% of Republicans now rate Johnson favorably, up from 39% last year.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Of the top congressional leaders, new Senate Majority Leader John Thune is the least well known: 60% of Americans say they have not heard of him.

Those who do know Thune are divided in their evaluations of him: 17% of all adults view him favorably, 20% unfavorably.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Ratings of Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries are also relatively evenly split (28% favorable, 26% unfavorable). More than four-in-ten Americans (44%) have never heard of Jeffries – down from 51% who had never heard of him a year ago.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Ratings of Chuck Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, remain more negative than positive: 28% view him favorably, while 46% view him unfavorably. A quarter have not heard of Schumer.

Views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The public is split in its evaluations of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services: 47% have a favorable opinion, 45% an unfavorable opinion.

Kennedy, a former Democrat, is viewed negatively by nearly three-quarters of Democrats (74%), while 77% of Republicans view him positively.

Elon Musk

Trump recently appointed Elon Musk – the owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) – to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, a team within the administration.

Musk is viewed more negatively than positively overall. More than half of Americans (54%) express unfavorable views of the billionaire, while 42% view him favorably.

• 73% of Republicans view Musk favorably, while about a quarter (24%) view him unfavorably.
• Just 12% of Democrats rate Musk favorably, while 85% view him unfavorably.