Americans’ confidence in the federal government’s ability to improve their lives fell sharply in 2026, according to a new poll.
Less than half of U.S. adults — at 43% — say the federal government is effective at making a positive impact on people’s lives, down 8 points from 51% in 2025, according to a Wednesday poll from Gallup and Massachusetts’ Bentley University.
“What [the poll is] getting at is, ’Do policymakers want to work together to try to make people’s lives better?’ And what we’ve seen is that’s not the case,” Jeff Gulati, a political science professor at Bentley, told The Washington Times. “It’s about winning the next election.”
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Among voters in both parties, there are affordability concerns and the federal government’s willingness to address high prices at the grocery store, the gas station, utility bills and healthcare, he said.
Half of the country will always be disappointed, he said, adding, “So, to me, I think 43% isn’t that bad.”
Even as Americans’ confidence has taken a downward turn, they still have faith in Washington.
Those who say the federal government has some or a great deal of power to improve people’s lives make up 92%, essentially unchanged from prior years.
“For policymakers, the findings suggest the public sees a government with the capacity to deliver but not the performance to match, and a sizable gap that leaders can either choose to close or watch widen,” the report reads.
This can primarily be attributed to economic performance and people’s day-to-day lives, Mr. Gulati said, adding that it may also be about whom voters see the federal government representing, whom it cares about and whom it’s listening to.
Declines can be attributed to one political party: Democrats.
Among Democrats, trust and effectiveness related to the federal government fell from 33% to 21% and from 54% to 41%, respectively. On the other hand, Republicans’ trust increased from 36% to 41%, while effectiveness ratings held steady.
Elections are one factor to blame, Mr. Gulati said.
“Every election, there is some hope because politicians run campaigns promising to make things better, and they of course can’t because, again, government can only do so much,” he said. “So Americans kind of set themselves up for disappointment.”
If the survey, which was conducted in early May, had a follow-up in the fall, “we’d see these numbers decline even more,” he said.
Pointing to prices at the pump, grocery bills and flight costs, “I don’t think that people sort of see that there’s anything brighter on the horizon,” Mr. Gulati said.
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