Most Americans say federal cuts to health agencies go too far, KFF poll finds

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The second Trump administration’s first 100 days have consisted of countless staffing and budgetary cuts at federal health agencies. A new Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans view the efforts as excessive and potentially harmful.

According to the nationally representative survey of 1,380 adults, 61% say they oppose “major cuts to staff and spending at federal government health agencies.” Just 38% voiced support for the reductions. More than half (54%) believe the cuts “go too far,” compared to 14% who say they don’t go far enough. Thirty-one percent believe the changes are “about right.”

The poll, conducted the week of April 8-15, 2025, comes amid widespread restructuring at the hands of President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk. At least 20,000 employees have been removed from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alone.

KFF researchers found that, beyond general opposition, 59% of the public believes the administration is “recklessly making broad cuts to programs and staff, including some that are necessary for agencies to function.” By contrast, 41% believe the administration is “carefully making cuts to reduce fraud and waste, and to improve government efficiency.”

Strong partisan divide, with MAGA base driving support

President Donald J. Trump © Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

As with many recent policy shifts under the Trump administration, views on the health agency cuts are polarizing. Eighty-nine percent of Democrats and two-thirds of independents (67%) oppose the cuts. Among Republicans, 72% support them.

Support is strongest among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who identify with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. That group, which comprises three-quarters of Republican-leaning respondents in the poll, overwhelmingly backs the cuts (78%). By comparison, non-MAGA Republicans are evenly split: 48% support and 52% oppose.

Notably, when supporters of the cuts were told the reductions could negatively impact agencies’ ability to serve the public, one in four (28%) changed their minds. Overall support dropped from 38% to 27%.

Meanwhile, when opponents were told the cuts could save money and reduce the size of the government, just 12% switched sides, raising total support to 46%.

Americans anticipate harm to veterans’ care, public health and research

The public sees broad risks to essential services. Sixty-two percent say cuts to staff and spending at federal health agencies will negatively affect the quality of health care afforded to veterans. Another 60% say medical research will likely suffer, while 55% worry about impacts on controlling infectious disease and 53% expect food safety to decline.

Opposition is especially strong to staffing cuts at specific health agencies. Seventy-four percent of adults oppose major cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 67% to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), 63% to both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 62% oppose cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy.

Most oppose Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security cuts

The KFF poll also asked about proposed funding cuts to key health programs and found consistent disapproval across party lines. Majorities of Americans oppose major funding reductions to:

• Social Security (84%)
• Medicare (79%)
• Medicaid (76%)
• Mental health and addiction services (74%)
• Infectious disease tracking (71%)
• University and medical center research (69%)
• HIV prevention programs (65%)
• ACA premium subsidies (65%

While Democrats and independents were widely opposed to all proposed funding cuts, Republican respondents were more divided.

A narrow majority of Republicans (55%) oppose cutting Medicaid, and larger shares oppose cuts to Medicare (64%) and Social Security (73%). Most Republicans support cuts to ACA subsidies (61%), HIV prevention (61%) and university research (56%).

Among MAGA-aligned Republicans, support for cutting key programs is even stronger — but still not universal. For example, 66% support cutting HIV prevention funds and 64% favor reducing ACA subsidies — but just 30% support Social Security cuts and 38% support cutting Medicare.

Who’s to blame for fraud and waste? Depends on party

The administration has justified many of the agency cuts as efforts to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse. Most Americans can agree those problems exist — but they disagree on who’s responsible.

Thirty-three percent of the public point to private health insurers as most responsible for fraud and waste in government health programs, followed by 29% who blame government employees. Just 20% blame hospitals and health care providers. Seventeen percent blame people enrolled in the programs.

Here again, partisanship matters. Forty-nine percent of Democrats cite insurers, while 42% of Republicans blame government employees.

And, while 57% of U.S. adults say fraud, waste and abuse are a “major problem” in private insurance, just half say the same for Medicare (50%), Medicaid (52%) and Social Security (51%).

Divided on the role of government

Despite the Trump administration’s framing of these cuts as a fiscal necessity, the public remains skeptical. When asked whether the cuts will help reduce the federal budget deficit, 40% said yes, but 34% said they expect a negative impact. Another 26% said the cuts would not make a difference.

A similar split was noted around the question of fraud. Thirty-eight percent believe the cuts will help reduce it, while 43% think they will hurt the goal.

The poll highlights a persistent tension in American public opinion. While support for smaller government remains a powerful political force, most Americans remain wary of shrinking health programs that serve as a public safety net — and consider aggressive cuts to be a step too far.