- Posted June 15, 2026
Trust In CDC Plummets Under Trump Administration, New Poll Shows
Public trust in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken a nose dive under the Trump administration, a new poll has found.
Only 50% of U.S. adults now say they trust health recommendations issued by the CDC, compared to 77% in early 2025, according to a survey from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“These national poll findings show concerning declines in the American public’s trust in federal health agencies one year into the new federal administration,” concluded the poll report, titled One Year In: Public Views of a Changing Public Health Landscape.
Unfortunately, this loss of trust in public health has echoed throughout the United States.
Only 66% now trust their state health department and 70% their local health department, down from 80% and 82%, respectively, pollsters said.
This decline in trust is driven by deep partisan divides, the survey found.
Between 2025 to 2026, trust in CDC health recommendations fell from 92% to 34% among Democrats, and from 77% to 47% among Independents.
At the same time, trust for such recommendations among Republicans rose slightly, from 63% to 67%.
“The link between political affiliation and trust in public health institutions is worrisome and doesn’t bode well for the future,” Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, said in a news release. The de Beaumont Foundation’s Public Health Listening Lab co-sponsored the poll.
“Decision makers can and will have differing views on the best policy solutions to public health challenges, but it’s important for them to be grounded in a common set of facts,” Castrucci said. “Science should not be a point of view. Once facts are politicized, it becomes increasingly difficult to bridge the divide.”
This steep drop has translated to losses in trust in the CDC across many other groups of Americans, the poll found:
Women, from 80% to 48%
Black adults, from 77% to 43%
Hispanic adults, from 81% to 50%
Urban dwellers, from 80% to 48%
College degree holders, from 80% to 46%
A slim majority of the public (55%) disapproves of federal public health agencies’ actions in the past year, again strongly linked to partisan identity. Most Democrats disapprove (86%), compared to only 1 in 5 Republicans (20%).
People’s top concerns about federal health agencies under the new leadership included that:
Recommendations are too influenced by leaders’ personal beliefs (68%).
Agencies are focused too much on the wrong priorities (66%).
Agencies have cut or scaled back programs too much (61%).
Too many decisions are made without following standard processes (60%).
Too many spending cuts have been made in health or medical research (60%).
Those surveyed were less inclined to agree with positive statements about federal public health agencies.
Fewer than half agreed that agencies have put decisions back into the hands of families (46%) or have been trying to do the right thing (44%).
Likewise, fewer than 1 in 4 agreed that agencies make recommendations based on the best available scientific evidence (38%), have had a positive impact on the health of average Americans (37%), or represent the interests of people like them (35%).
The survey found there is still strong majority support for routine childhood vaccination, with more than three-quarters (77%) supporting school vaccination requirements. About 91% of Democrats and 65% of Republican support these school requirements.
But 42% of Americans support reducing the childhood vaccine schedule, a view held by 65% of Republicans and 18% of Democrats.
About 89% of people view childhood vaccines as safe, down slightly from 94% at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This decline includes fewer people who say childhood vaccines are “very safe” – now 57%, down from 70% during the pandemic.
“Social media and news coverage tend to elevate the loudest voices that question or outright oppose vaccines, so it can often feel like there is a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment amongst the general public. The reality is that the vast majority of people support vaccines for children and believe they are safe,” said Gillian SteelFisher, survey lead and principal research scientist at Harvard Chan School.
“That said, it is true that many families are questioning the necessity of vaccines and weighing what vaccine requirements mean for their parental authority. Healthcare providers and public health communicators need to be able to address these concerns with empathy and compassion,” she said in a news release.
The poll was conducted online and by phone March 19 to April 1 among a nationally representative sample of 2,205 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 perentage points.
More information
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has more on vaccine safety in the U.S.
SOURCE: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, news release, June 9, 2026
