A new poll shows that a majority of federal employees who previously voted for Democrats are now prepared to act in opposition to President Donald Trump’s agenda, despite his being their elected boss.
Data released Thursday by the Napolitan Institute reveals that 76% of federal employees who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris under the Trump administration say they intend to “resist” his agenda. Additionally, 75% indicated they would hypothetically disobey a legal order they personally disagreed with, choosing instead to “do what [they] thought was best.”
The Napolitan Institute said the findings highlight a “deep partisan divide within the Administrative State” as Trump works to align federal agencies with his policy goals, the Daily Caller reported.
“Our research confirms that the Administrative State is not composed of thoughtful, nonpartisan experts who are making neutral decisions for voters,” Napolitan Institute founder Scott Rasmussen said in a press release.
“The deep partisan divide within the federal bureaucracy and the shifting public opinion present significant challenges for the current administration,” the statement added.
The survey asked respondents to “imagine that you were the head of a federal government agency” and “President Trump gave you an order that was legal but you believed was bad policy.”
“Would you follow the president’s order or do what you thought was best?” the questionnaire asked.
The results showed that 75% of federal employees who voted for Harris said they would “do what [they] thought was best” rather than follow President Trump’s orders, while 9% were unsure and the remainder said they would comply.
In contrast, 80% of Trump-supporting officials said they would follow his directives even if they personally disagreed, with 2% unsure and 18% saying they would not comply.
Harris supporters in the government also said their own “political efforts” will be to either “strongly resist” or “somewhat resist” Trump’s agenda by 56% and 16% said they would “neither support nor resist,” the Napolitan Institute found.
