A new Gallup survey finds that perceptions of corruption in the federal government have climbed to a record 89%, with large majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans now agreeing that corruption is widespread.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Americans’ confidence in the integrity of the federal government has deteriorated sharply, with nearly nine in 10 adults now saying corruption is widespread, according to new Gallup polling that places public concern at its highest level in two decades.
The survey found that 89% of U.S. adults believe corruption is widespread in government, a 10-percentage-point increase from last year and well above the 72% to 79% range Gallup recorded between 2010 and 2025.
The latest result reflects broad dissatisfaction across political affiliations, although the largest recent shift has occurred among Democrats.
In 2024, former President Joe Biden’s final full year in office, 57% of Democrats said corruption was widespread in government.
That share rose to 76% in 2025, President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House, before climbing another 15 points to 91% in 2026.
Independents have also become substantially more likely to describe the federal government as broadly corrupt.
Ninety percent now hold that view, up 12 percentage points from 2024.
Republicans, by contrast, have shown considerably less movement.
Eighty-three percent of Republicans currently say government corruption is widespread, compared with 87% in 2024. Gallup noted that roughly eight in 10 Republicans have expressed that view in each of the past two years.
That partisan pattern led Gallup to conclude that Democrats’ assessments appear more sensitive to which party controls the presidency, while Republicans have maintained a more consistently negative view of government integrity regardless of who occupies the White House.
The poll nevertheless shows that the partisan differences are now relatively narrow compared with the overall level of agreement.
With 91% of Democrats, 90% of independents and 83% of Republicans saying corruption is widespread, overwhelming majorities across the political spectrum share the same basic perception.
Gallup conducted the survey by telephone between May 1 and June 10 among a random sample of 1,000 Americans ages 15 and older.
The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
The findings also place the United States increasingly out of step with other advanced economies.
Gallup data from the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show that the median share of adults who view government corruption as widespread has generally declined over time.
The OECD median stood at 69% in 2009 before falling below 60% beginning in 2022.
Complete 2026 results are not yet available for every OECD member, but the median was 59% in 2025.
The United States stood at 79% that year, 20 percentage points above the OECD median and the highest level of perceived government corruption among OECD countries.
With the U.S. figure now at 89%, that gap could widen further once full international results for 2026 are available.
The American result also ranks near the upper end of Gallup’s global findings.
Since 2023, only four of the 132 countries in which Gallup has asked the question annually have posted figures nominally higher than the current U.S. result.
Lebanon recorded 92% in 2024.
Peru reached 92% in 2025.
Ghana and Nigeria each registered 90% in 2024.
The new survey therefore places perceptions of government corruption in the United States at levels comparable to some of the highest Gallup has measured internationally.
Concern about corruption is not limited to government.
Gallup also found that 71% of Americans believe corruption is widespread in U.S. business, an increase of eight percentage points from last year.
Even so, the public’s view of government remains considerably more negative.
The 18-point gap between perceived corruption in government and business is the largest Gallup has recorded in the United States since it began measuring both in 2006.
From 2006 through 2025, perceptions of corruption in government averaged 11 percentage points higher than perceptions of corruption in business.
The latest results suggest that the difference has expanded substantially.
What stands out most in the 2026 findings is not merely the record national figure, but the breadth of the agreement behind it.
Political affiliation still affects how Americans’ views change when control of Washington shifts, particularly among Democrats, but the country has nevertheless reached a point where large majorities of every major political group describe federal corruption as widespread.
At 89%, Gallup’s latest reading marks both a sharp one-year increase and a new high in a long-running measure of Americans’ trust in the integrity of their government.
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