Support remains mixed for executive orders and actions

Washington DC, February 5, 2025—New polling Ipsos conducted and provided exclusively to Reuters finds that public opinion on various proposed executive orders and actions is mixed. A majority of Americans support declassifying records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedey, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (73% support, 23% oppose). The public is split on abolishing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs in the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security (46% support, 49% oppose). More people oppose rather than support temporarily freezing federal funding for government grants and services in the U.S. (34% support, 62% oppose). Most also oppose barring transgender people from enlisting and serving openly in the military (40% support, 55% oppose). Though, most support freezing all U.S. funded foreign assistance programs, with exceptions only for programs the federal government defines as “life-saving humanitarian assistance” (56% support, 40% oppose).

A plurality of Americans (44%) feels concerned about the current news cycle. From there, roughly a quarter feel anxious (27%), overwhelmed (25%), and angry (24%). Roughly one in seven feel hopeful (16%) or optimistic (15%).

To learn more about public opinion on President Donald Trump’s executive orders and actions from his first week in office, follow the link here.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted from January 31 to February 2, 2025, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel^®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,032 adults age 18 or older.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the U.S. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The study was conducted in English. The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The 2024 presidential vote choice benchmarks came from the Federal Elections Commission 2024 election results for the U.S. President. 

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• 2024 Presidential Election Vote (Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Other, Did not vote)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.50.

The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

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