Americans are more content with the federal government than at any point since 2004, survey finds


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Believe it or not, Americans are more content with the federal government that at any point since 2004, a Pew Research Center survey published Monday found.
While a majority of the respondents remain "frustrated" by the government, 29 percent described themselves as "basically content" with it, compared to just 17 percent who are "angry." Last fall, those numbers were 18 and 24 percent, respectively, and it helps to go back even further to really get perspective on the seemingly mild figure; in 2013, only 12 percent of Americans were content with and 30 percent were angry at the government.
Of course, this is the United States in 2021, so the sentiment is highly partisan. The rise appears to be driven by a whopping 34-point increase — 9 to 43 percent — from 2020 among Democrats who consider themselves content now that President Biden is in office. On the flip side, only 13 percent of Republicans feel the same way, though their drop from the days of the Trump administration is not quite as dramatic.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Pew Research Center survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 5,109 adults in the U.S. between April 5-11. The margin of error is 2.1 percentage points. Read the full results here.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Biden's first rodeo
cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biden's stumble
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily gossip: Travis Kelce chats about Taylor Swift's Chiefs game visit, Hollywood writers thrilled with details of new contract as strike ends, and more
The daily gossip: September 27, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Rebuilding Ukraine: What would it take?
In Depth Russia continues to raze large sections of Ukraine, but that gives Kyiv a unique opening to build a better country — if somebody is willing to pay
By Peter Weber Published
-
Is it time the world re-evaluated the rules on migration?
Today's Big Question Home Secretary Suella Braverman questions whether 1951 UN Refugee Convention is 'fit for our modern age'
By The Week Staff Published
-
A Ukraine election in 2024: how it would work
The Explainer Zelenskyy hints that country is ready for March polls but logistical, security and democratic obstacles remain
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
How Ukraine's claimed kill of Russia's top Black Sea Fleet admiral could affect the war
Speed Read Ukraine says it killed Russian Adm. Viktor Sokolov and 33 other senior commanders in an audacious and expertly timed strike in Crimea
By Peter Weber Published
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Azerbaijan attacks disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, breaking cease-fire
The 'local anti-terrorist' strikes in the ethnic Armenian enclave threaten to reignite a war with implications for Russia, Turkey and the West
By Peter Weber Published
-
Canada's Trudeau accuses India of role in assassination of Canadian Sikh leader
Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat after going public with explosive 'credible allegations' that Indian agents helped kill a Canadian citizen
By Peter Weber Published
-
US-Iran prisoner swap: has Biden given in to blackmail?
Republicans condemn $6bn deal but it could help de-escalate rising tensions
By The Week Staff Published