Majority of Americans oppose domestic spending freeze sought by Trump, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Most Americans oppose a temporary freeze on domestic federal spending as sought by President Donald Trump, but support is higher for cutting foreign aid, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

The three-day survey, which closed on Sunday, found 62% of respondents said they were against "temporarily freezing federal funding for government grants and services," while 34% supported the policy.

By contrast, 56% backed freezing U.S.-funded foreign assistance programs, with 40% of respondents opposed to such cuts.

Trump's White House announced last week it would freeze a wide swath of domestic spending. That effort was blocked in court before it could officially take effect, though it did disrupt some health and child-care payments. The White House said the freeze was needed to track down spending on diversity efforts and other programs it is trying to end, but it abandoned the effort shortly after.

The White House has also ordered deep cuts in foreign aid spending which remain underway, leaving hundreds of contractors in a severe financial crunch with some already having to lay off staff and others facing millions of dollars in unpaid invoices.

Trump has released a barrage of new policies since he returned to the White House on Jan. 20, including an order to reinstate military service members who were discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. Some 59% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they backed reinstating the soldiers, while 37% were opposed.

Public support was tepid at best for several other Trump measures, including an order to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the military. Some 46% of respondents in the survey said they supported abolishing the programs, compared to 49% who opposed the effort.

The poll also found just 40% of Americans support Trump's order barring transgender people from the military, while 55% opposed such a ban.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, surveying 1,032 adults nationwide. It had a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.