A new report from the Pew Research Center shows which federal agencies Americans sees favorably and which ones they dislike.
The survey of more than 2,000 American adults was taken last month and respondents were asked their thoughts on more than 15 federal agencies.
Pew found Americans generally think highly of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) which topped the list, followed by NASA, the National Park Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These agencies were viewed favorably with at least 80 percent of those surveyed seeing all of them favorably.
The least liked federal agency was Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as only 42 percent of those surveyed saw it in a favorable light. There was a major partisan divide on ICE as 70 percent of Republicans saw the agency as favorable while only 19 percent of Democrats saw it in a favorable light.
Americans also don’t think highly of the U.S. Department of Education which 48 percent saw as favorable.
Other federal agencies were seen as a favorable by a majority of those surveyed. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was seen as favorable by 52, the U.S. Justice Department was seen as favorable by 54 percent and, surprisingly, the IRS was seen as favorable by 55 percent.
There was a slight partisan gap on the Justice Department as 49 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans saw it as favorable.
Asked about the FBI, 70 percent of those surveyed–including 66 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Democrats–saw it in a favorable light.
Turning to the size of government, Americans are divided on it with with 48 percent saying they want a smaller government with fewer services provided while 46 percent want a larger government with more services. There is a partisan gap on the matter with 77 percent of Republicans wanting a smaller government while 69 percent of Democrats want a larger one. There is also a bit of a gender divide with 56 percent of men wanting a smaller government while 52 percent of women want a larger one.
The survey of 2,004 American adults was taken from Sept. 5 through Sept. 6 and had a margin of error of 2.6 percent.
Author
