The share of Republicans who say they want tech billionaire Elon Musk to have significant influence in the Trump administration has fallen substantially in the months since President Trump was elected.
In The Economist/YouGov poll taken in the days after the November 2024 election, 47 percent of surveyed Republicans said they wanted Musk to have “a lot” of influence in the Trump administration, while 29 percent wanted “a little” and 12 percent wanted him to have “none at all.”
Today, however, the share of Republicans who say they want Musk to have “a lot” of influence has fallen substantially to 26 percent. Meanwhile, 43 percent of Republican respondents say they want Musk to have “a little” influence, and 17 percent say they want him to have “none at all,” according to the latest poll from The Economist/YouGov released Wednesday.
Surveyed Democrats and independents are also showing less desire for Musk to have a prominent influence in the Trump administration. Only 6 percent of each group say they want Musk to have “a lot” of influence. In November, 15 percent of Democrats and 26 percent of independents said they wanted Trump to have “a lot” of influence in the administration.
Overall, 13 percent of surveyed Americans want Musk to have “a lot” of influence on the Trump administration, while 25 percent say they want “a little” influence and 46 percent say they want “none at all.”
In November, 34 percent of surveyed Americans wanted Musk to have “a lot” of influence, 22 percent wanted him to have “a little” influence, and 30 percent said “none at all.”
The numbers come as 51 percent of Americans perceive Musk as having “a lot” of influence on the Trump administration, according to the February poll. That includes 78 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Independents, and 35 percent of Republicans.
The latest poll also shows Americans have less favorable views of Trump and Vice President Vance than they did in last week’s poll, conducted after their first week in office.
Trump has zero net favorability, with 48 percent of respondents viewing him favorably and unfavorably. Last week, Trump had a positive net favorability rounded to 3 points, with approximately 50 percent of survey respondents viewing him favorably and 48 percent unfavorably.
Vance’s favorability rating dropped more significantly over the past week, from a net positive rating of 2 points down to a negative 7-point favorability rating. Last week, 45 percent of respondents viewed him favorably and 43 percent viewed him unfavorably; this week, 40 percent view him favorably and 47 percent view him unfavorably.
Musk was tapped to lead the inaugural Department of Government Efficiency commission to root out waste at federal departments and agencies. Since Trump took office, however, Musk has taken several bold steps that have some critics questioning the legal basis for his authority.
He moved to lock federal workers out of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Congress funds annually through appropriations bills for the State Department and foreign operations. Musk gained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system, and, under Musk’s influence, many federal workers have been offered buyouts.
The latest survey included 1,604 U.S. citizens and was conducted Feb. 2-4, 2025. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.
