WASHINGTON — A vast majority of Utah voters say they support cutting the size of the government as Congress works to approve spending cuts implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.
Nearly 80% of Utahns say they support downsizing the government, according to a new poll conducted by HarrisX for the Deseret News. That sentiment was largely shared among those who identify themselves as Republican, with 91% saying they support compared to just 9% who said they oppose.
Democratic voters were more split among themselves, as 47% said they supported cutting the size of the government compared to 53% who said the opposite, according to the poll.
Since President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January, the DOGE commission has identified spending cuts officials say would save the government billions of dollars. Congress has begun the process of approving those cuts, although lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats like — are torn on whether they agree with what’s on the chopping block.
A majority (60%) of Utahns say DOGE has been effective at identifying spending cuts compared to just 40% who said the opposite, the poll shows. That opinion is largely split along party lines, as 80% of Republicans said DOGE was effective, with only 29% of Democrats saying the same.
On the other hand, 71% of Democrats said DOGE was ineffective compared to just 20% of Republicans who agreed with that sentiment.
But when it comes to DOGE cuts and slashed funding, Utah voters say they feel mostly unaffected. A majority of Utahns (67%) say they don’t know anyone who has lost their job because of the DOGE cuts, according to the poll.
About 12% say a close friend has lost their job, 8% say a family member and another 17% say an acquaintance lost their job due to the DOGE cuts. Roughly 4% report their job was terminated because of DOGE cuts, the poll shows.
The poll was conducted between May 16-21 among 805 registered voters in Utah. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Proposed spending cuts are already making their way through Congress, with the House approving a $9.4 billion rescissions package on Thursday targeting foreign aid as well as federal funding for organizations the Trump administration has accused of being anti-conservative. The package was opposed by all Democrats, and a handful of Republicans also opposed the package.
However, it underscores a desire among Trump allies to codify the cuts identified by DOGE as “waste, fraud, and abuse” as quickly as possible.
The recent sentiments also come in contrast to Deseret News polling last month that showed Utah voters believe the federal government should spend more money in several different areas, with foreign funding a strong exception.