The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 82% of Likely U.S. Voters are angry about the amount of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending – up from 75% in January – including 50% who are Very Angry. Only 15% aren’t angry about fraudulent spending.
The exposure of widespread fraud in government programs has voters in a wrathful mood, unfortunately, most don’t believe President Donald Trump’s administration is doing a good job of dealing with the problem.
Vice President J.D. Vance is leading a Fraud Task Force which last month suspended hundreds of California health agencies suspected of bilking the government of $600 million in fraudulent payments.
However, apparently because they haven’t seen the fraudsters being perp-walked on the national news, only 35% of voters believe the Trump administration is doing a good or excellent job in terms of investigating and prosecuting cases of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending. Nearly half (48%) rate the Trump administration as doing a poor job of prosecuting fraud.
And this is an issue where voters are highly engaged: Eighty-one percent (81%) have closely followed recent news reports about waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, including 42% who say they’ve followed the news Very Closely. Among those who have Very Closely followed recent reports about waste, fraud and abuse, 70% say they’re Very Angry about the problem.
Forty-five percent (45%) of voters trust the Democratic Party more to deal with the issue of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, while 38% trust Republicans more and 16% are not sure.
Eighty-five percent (85%) of Democrats trust their own party more to deal with the fraud issue, while 79% of Republicans trust the GOP more. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 35% trust Democrats more to deal with waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, 31% trust Republicans more and 34% are not sure.
More Republicans (49%) than Democrats (41%) or unaffiliated voters (36%) say they have Very Closely followed recent news reports about waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending. Majorities of every political category – 85% of Republicans, 81% of Democrats and 78% of unaffiliated voters – are at least somewhat angry about the problem.
While 66% of Republicans give the Trump administration a good or excellent rating for the job they’ve done in terms of investigating and prosecuting cases of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, 74% of Democrats believe the administration has done a poor job. Among unaffiliated voters, the Trump administration gets good or excellent ratings from 28% and a poor rating from 54% on the job they’ve done prosecuting spending fraud.
Majorities of every political category – 83% of whites, 81% of black voters, 80% of Hispanics and 68% of other minorities – are at least somewhat angry about the amount of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending. Hispanics are most likely to rate the Trump administration as doing a good or excellent job of investigating and prosecuting waste, fraud and abuse. Black voters are most likely to trust Democrats to deal with the issue.
Among those who voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, 69% give his administration a good or excellent rating for the job they have done investigating and prosecuting cases of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending.
As with many polls there may be some distortion of the results due to Trump Derangement Syndrome: Democrats are rarely willing to give Trump high marks for anything, and in this case seventy-eight percent (78%) of Kamala Harris voters rate the administration as doing a poor job on the issue of investigating and prosecuting waste, fraud and abuse.
Only arrests and prosecutions are going to make this a winning issue for Republicans. If Republicans, and the Trump administration were smart (and they often aren’t) and want to seize this issue and use it to build enthusiasm for the midterms, they must start a weekly, daily would be better, broadcast of these fraudsters, many of them foreign born, being perp walked straight to the nearest federal lockup.
The survey of 1,101 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on April 30 and May 3-4, 2026 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. To see survey question wording, click here.
The exposure of widespread fraud in government programs has voters in a wrathful mood, unfortunately, most don’t believe President Donald Trump’s administration is doing a good job of dealing with the problem.
Vice President J.D. Vance is leading a Fraud Task Force which last month suspended hundreds of California health agencies suspected of bilking the government of $600 million in fraudulent payments.
However, apparently because they haven’t seen the fraudsters being perp-walked on the national news, only 35% of voters believe the Trump administration is doing a good or excellent job in terms of investigating and prosecuting cases of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending. Nearly half (48%) rate the Trump administration as doing a poor job of prosecuting fraud.
And this is an issue where voters are highly engaged: Eighty-one percent (81%) have closely followed recent news reports about waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, including 42% who say they’ve followed the news Very Closely. Among those who have Very Closely followed recent reports about waste, fraud and abuse, 70% say they’re Very Angry about the problem.
Forty-five percent (45%) of voters trust the Democratic Party more to deal with the issue of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, while 38% trust Republicans more and 16% are not sure.
Eighty-five percent (85%) of Democrats trust their own party more to deal with the fraud issue, while 79% of Republicans trust the GOP more. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 35% trust Democrats more to deal with waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, 31% trust Republicans more and 34% are not sure.
More Republicans (49%) than Democrats (41%) or unaffiliated voters (36%) say they have Very Closely followed recent news reports about waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending. Majorities of every political category – 85% of Republicans, 81% of Democrats and 78% of unaffiliated voters – are at least somewhat angry about the problem.
While 66% of Republicans give the Trump administration a good or excellent rating for the job they’ve done in terms of investigating and prosecuting cases of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending, 74% of Democrats believe the administration has done a poor job. Among unaffiliated voters, the Trump administration gets good or excellent ratings from 28% and a poor rating from 54% on the job they’ve done prosecuting spending fraud.
Majorities of every political category – 83% of whites, 81% of black voters, 80% of Hispanics and 68% of other minorities – are at least somewhat angry about the amount of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending. Hispanics are most likely to rate the Trump administration as doing a good or excellent job of investigating and prosecuting waste, fraud and abuse. Black voters are most likely to trust Democrats to deal with the issue.
Among those who voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, 69% give his administration a good or excellent rating for the job they have done investigating and prosecuting cases of waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending.
As with many polls there may be some distortion of the results due to Trump Derangement Syndrome: Democrats are rarely willing to give Trump high marks for anything, and in this case seventy-eight percent (78%) of Kamala Harris voters rate the administration as doing a poor job on the issue of investigating and prosecuting waste, fraud and abuse.
Only arrests and prosecutions are going to make this a winning issue for Republicans. If Republicans, and the Trump administration were smart (and they often aren’t) and want to seize this issue and use it to build enthusiasm for the midterms, they must start a weekly, daily would be better, broadcast of these fraudsters, many of them foreign born, being perp walked straight to the nearest federal lockup.
The survey of 1,101 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on April 30 and May 3-4, 2026 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. To see survey question wording, click here.
