“I wonder out loud how much DOGE budget cutting will be in this speech, because actually it’s polling very well,” Kudlow said March 4. “It’s very popular.” Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council during Trump’s first presidency.
DOGE — the Trump administration’s cost-cutting agency, headed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk — has put hundreds of federal workers on leave, gained access to sensitive federal payment systems and sought to shutter some federal agencies. Trump created the agency by executive order, and it’s part of the executive branch.
Is DOGE as popular as Kudlow said?
In a statement to PolitiFact provided through Fox News, Kudlow said he was referring to a Harvard-Harris poll taken on Feb. 19 and 20. The poll showed people believe DOGE is making major government cuts, but it didn’t measure sentiment about those cuts. Respondents reported they are concerned about the group’s access to sensitive information.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Meanwhile, at least six other polls conducted since mid-February show less support for DOGE. Two polls found public ambivalence about DOGE, and four showed opposition outpacing support. We did not find polls that showed overwhelming support for DOGE.
Harvard-Harris poll shows respondents agreed DOGE is making major cuts, but it didn’t ask whether people approved
The Harvard-Harris poll did not directly ask respondents whether they supported or approved of DOGE.
In one question, they were asked, “Do you think there should be a U.S. government agency focused on efficiency initiatives, or not?” Seventy-two percent said yes and 24% said no. But the question didn’t specifically reference DOGE.
In another question, respondents were asked whether DOGE “is helping make major cuts in government expenditures, or not?” Sixty percent said it’s making major cuts, and 40% said it isn’t. But this question did not measure respondents’ feelings about perceived cuts.
Answers to the poll’s other questions suggested the respondents had concerns about DOGE.
When asked, “Do you think that DOGE employees should have access to all information on government expenditures,” including Americans’ names, Social Security numbers, addresses and incomes, 58% said DOGE should not have such access.
And when asked whether the executive branch or Congress should control how the U.S. government spends its money, 58% said Congress.
Two other polls show mixed results
A CBS News/YouGov poll taken Feb. 26 to 28 showed split sentiments. When asked what they think of Trump’s efforts to cut staff at government agencies, 51% said they approve and 49% said they disapprove.
A slight majority — 52% — said Musk and DOGE have too much authority to cut the federal workforce, while 33% said Musk and DOGE have the right amount of authority and 15% said too little. And on the question of access to sensitive data, 52% said DOGE had too much access.
An Economist/YouGov poll from Feb. 23 to 25 also found public sentiment to be split.
When asked about the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal agencies’ budgets and staff, 43% said the efforts have “gone too far.” That was a plurality, but it was neck and neck with the combination of people answering “been about right” and “not gone far enough.”
This poll, too, had responses that offered warning signs about support for DOGE.
When respondents were asked, “How much influence do you want Elon Musk to have within Donald Trump’s administration,” 16% said “a lot,” 24% said “a little” and a plurality of 45% said “none at all.” And 57% said they were very or somewhat concerned that Musk would have conflicts of interest.
Four polls show Musk and DOGE to be unpopular
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll taken from Feb. 13 to 18 asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of the job Elon Musk is doing within the federal government. It found 34% approval and 49% disapproval. The survey also found concern about DOGE’s access to sensitive information; 63% of respondents said they were concerned, with 45% saying they were “very concerned.”
When a Quinnipiac poll taken Feb. 13 to 17 asked whether respondents approve or disapprove of Elon Musk playing a prominent role in the Trump administration, it found 42% approval and 54% disapproval.
Quinnipiac also found 55% of respondents saying Musk has too much power, 36% saying his power is about right and 3% saying he had too little power.
An Emerson College poll taken from Feb. 15 to 17 asked respondents whether they approved or disapproved of “the job Elon Musk is doing at the Department of Government Efficiency.” It found that 45% disapproved and 41% approved.
Finally, a Marist Poll for NPR and PBS taken from Feb. 24 to 26 asked respondents whether they had a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of DOGE. The results were 39% favorable and 44% unfavorable.
Regardless of the poll, one group consistently showed support for DOGE and Musk: Republicans.
Typically, 70% to 85% of Republicans answered favorably to questions about what Musk and DOGE are doing, while less than 20% of Democrats answered similarly.
Our ruling
Kudlow said that DOGE is “polling very well. It’s very popular.”
A Harvard-Harris survey found 72% said the U.S. should have a “government agency focused on efficiency initiatives,” but the question didn’t ask specifically about DOGE. And the poll found 60% saying DOGE is helping make major cuts, but did not measure support for those cuts.
In six other polls, none showed overwhelming support for DOGE’s efforts. Four showed DOGE to be unpopular; two showed split public sentiment.
There’s an element of truth in Kudlow’s statement — based on party affiliation, Republicans surveyed largely saw DOGE and Musk favorably. But that’s not the case for the broader set of respondents.
We rate the statement Mostly False.
