Nothing gives Americans greater faith in the rectitude of the state's enforcement apparatus than having their own political tribe in charge. In recent years, Democrats have viewed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) positively when they believe their people are calling the shots, while Republicans have disapproved—only for the ratings to flip when the party in power shifts. More than anything, the seesawing numbers illustrate the degree to which so many government bodies have become political weapons in the hands of those in office, to be feared and loathed by those on the receiving end.
When Power Changes Hands, Opinions of Enforcement Agencies Flip
"As the Trump administration works to reshape and refocus the federal bureaucracy, Republican views of several key departments and agencies—the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services—have grown considerably more positive than they were a year ago," reports Pew Research. "Democratic views of these agencies have shifted in the opposite direction over this period, and in some cases even more starkly."
