Poll results

Majorities Express Favorable Opinions of Several Federal Agencies, Including the FBI

The public continues to express favorable opinions of a number of federal agencies and departments. And while positive opinions of the FBI among Republicans have slipped since early last year, two-thirds of Americans – including a majority of Republicans – view the bureau favorably.

The public rates the 10 agencies and departments included in the survey more positively than negatively, with the U.S. Postal Service continuing to rank highest. Today, fully 88% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of the Postal Service, compared with just one-in-ten who view it unfavorably.

While more view the Department of Education favorably than unfavorably, just about half (53%) say they have a favorable opinion, while 42% have an unfavorable view – the highest share expressing a negative view of the 10 asked.

Overall, by roughly two-to-one, most Americans give positive ratings to the CIA (64%), the Federal Reserve (63%), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (60%) and the Department of Justice (59%).

The survey, conducted Feb. 7-11 among 1,009 adults, finds that 66% have a favorable opinion of the FBI, while 23% hold an unfavorable view. While overall ratings of the FBI have changed little in the past year, the partisan gap in views today in opinions of the FBI is wider than in the past seven years.