Nearly nine in 10 Americans now believe corruption is widespread in the U.S. government, the highest share Gallup has recorded in two decades, as separate reporting finds that federal watchdog offices are producing fewer audits and investigative reports.
Gallup found that 89% of U.S. adults say government corruption is widespread, a 10-point increase from 2025 and well above the 72% to 79% range recorded between 2010 and 2025. The concern crosses party lines, with 91% of Democrats, 90% of independents and 83% of Republicans sharing that view.
The increase has been particularly pronounced among Democrats, Gallup explains. In 2024, former President Joe Biden's final year in office, 57% said government corruption was widespread. That rose to 76% during President Donald Trump's first year back in office and 91% this year.
Republican views have remained more consistent, with roughly eight in 10 expressing the same concern over the past two years.
The findings come as the federal government's internal oversight system has undergone significant changes. President Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general after returning to office, while some of their replacements have previously served as political appointees in the agencies they are now charged with overseeing, NOTUS reported.
Cabinet-level inspectors general issued 15% fewer audits and about 25% fewer investigative reports during the first half of the current fiscal year compared with the same periods from 2020 through 2024, according to Partnership for Public Service data cited by NOTUS. Current and former watchdog staffers also described canceled reports, staffing changes and concerns about the independence of their offices.
The U.S. was already an outlier among other advanced economies before Gallup's latest increase. In 2025, 79% of Americans said government corruption was widespread, compared with a median of 59% across the 38 countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. That placed the U.S. highest in the OECD that year.
Americans also increasingly perceive corruption in business, but at lower levels. Seventy-one percent now say it is widespread, leaving an 18-point gap with perceptions of government corruption, the largest Gallup has recorded in the U.S. since it began tracking both measures in 2006.
