Most Americans think government workers are competent and should be nonpartisan, according to recent surveys

Support for a nonpartisan civil service rebounded this year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Partnership for Public Service. A recently launched survey series from a Harvard research center also found that majorities of Americans view public sector employees positively. 

In total, 76% of respondents in the spring Partnership survey agreed that a nonpartisan civil service is important for a strong democracy in the U.S., which is a 10% increase compared with last year. The upswing was driven by Republicans and Independents; both of whom experienced double-digit increases in support since 2025. 

Still, 38% of respondents agreed that "presidents should have the right to fill any government job with people that agree with their policies.” 

President Donald Trump last week formally converted around 8,000 career federal employees in “policy-related” positions to Schedule Policy/Career, which removes their civil service protections. Agency worker organizations and good government groups, including the Partnership, have criticized the new job classification and argued it will lead to hiring based on political affiliation. 

The Partnership survey also found that “civil servants received the highest level of support” since the nonprofit started conducting annual polls in 2021. This year, 61% of respondents agreed that “most civil servants are committed to helping people like me” (a five-point increase since 2025) and 65% reported that “most civil servants are competent” (an eight-point increase). 

These results come from a nationally representative poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted between March 31 and April 5. 

The survey also found that 52% of Americans oppose the Trump administration’s changes to government, which is an increase from 49% in 2025. In particular, 56% of Independents this year objected to the reforms compared with 42% in 2025. 

Additionally, one in three respondents said they have been, or know someone who has been, impacted by the administration’s federal funding and/or workforce cuts. 

In December 2025, the Harvard People Lab launched “Perceptions of Public Servants,” a quarterly series of national representative surveys to track views of U.S. public sector workers. Its analysis, for the most part, does not distinguish between federal, state and local government employees. 

Researchers reported in a June white paper that most Americans believe public sector employees are competent (68%), have integrity (57%) and express warmth (51%). Conversely, only about a quarter of respondents described such workers as innovative. These results came from a March survey. 

The research center also found that, between December 2025 and March 2026, there was a roughly 9% drop in respondents reporting they were “somewhat” or “very” interested in public sector jobs, with the largest decreases among Democrats, women, late career workers and Black people. 

The Trump administration has sought to excise diversity, equity and inclusion programs from the federal government. 

According to the white paper, stereotypes of public sector employees are “strong, consistent predictors” of wanting a career in public service. For example, “a one standard deviation increase in how favorably respondents view public sector employees’ integrity is associated with a seven percentage point increase in career interest.”