As GOP pushes spending cuts, many say Medicaid and food stamps are underfunded: AP-NORC poll
Jun 16, 2025, 4:00 AM
FILE - Children's Defense Fund Program Director Graciela Camarena assists Lucia Salazar with filling out Medicaid and SNAP application forms for her family in Pharr, Texas, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� As Republican senators consider President Donald Trump鈥檚 big bill that could slash federal spending and extend tax cuts, a new survey shows most U.S. adults don鈥檛 think the government is overspending on the programs the GOP has focused on cutting, like Medicaid and food stamps.
Americans broadly support increasing or maintaining existing levels of funding for popular safety net programs, including Social Security and Medicare, according to the poll from . They’re more divided on spending around the military and border security, and most think the government is spending too much on foreign aid.
The poll points to a disconnect between Republicans鈥� policy agenda and public sentiment around the domestic programs that are up for debate in the coming weeks.
Here鈥檚 the latest polling data on how Americans view federal funding:
Many Americans see Medicaid and food assistance programs as underfunded 鈥� even as Congress proposes significant cuts to Medicaid and food and nutrition assistance programs 鈥� and few say 鈥渢oo much鈥� money is going to these programs.
About half of U.S. adults say 鈥渢oo little鈥� funding goes to Medicaid, which is a government health care coverage program for low-income people and people with certain disabilities. Nearly half, 45%, say food and nutrition assistance programs like food stamps, SNAP or EBT cards are underfunded, according to the poll. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults in each case say those programs are receiving 鈥渁bout the right amount鈥� of funding, indicating that most Americans likely do not want to see significant cuts to the two programs.
About 2 in 10 say Medicaid is overfunded, while about one-quarter say that about food assistance programs.
Republicans are especially likely to say 鈥渢oo much鈥� is spent on food and nutrition assistance programs when compared with Democrats and independents 鈥� 46% of Republicans say this, compared with about 1 in 10 Democrats and independents.
When it comes to Medicaid, fewer Republicans, about one-third, say the government is spending 鈥渢oo much.鈥�
About 6 in 10 Americans say there is not enough government money going toward Social Security, Medicare or education broadly. But Democrats overwhelmingly think 鈥渢oo little鈥� money is allocated to these areas, while Republicans are happier with the status quo.
Very few think Medicare, Social Security and education are getting 鈥渢oo much鈥� funding. Only about 1 in 10 Republicans say this about either Medicare or Social Security. Roughly one-quarter of Republicans say too much is spent on education.
When it comes to Social Security, about half of Republicans say 鈥渢oo little鈥� is spent, compared with about 7 in 10 Democrats.
Americans are more divided on whether the government is devoting too much money to the military or border security.
About 3 in 10 say the government is spending 鈥渢oo much鈥� on the military, while a similar share say the government is spending 鈥渢oo little.鈥� Close to 4 in 10 say the government is spending 鈥渁bout the right amount.鈥�
Republicans are much less likely to say 鈥渢oo little鈥� is being spent on border security than they were before Trump took office again in January. Now, 45% of Republicans say 鈥渢oo little鈥� is being spent, down from 79% in .
On the other hand, Democrats are more likely to say that 鈥渢oo much鈥� is being spent on border security. About half of Democrats now say this, compared with about 3 in 10 in January.
The Trump administration has asked Congress for deep reductions to foreign aid programs, including cuts to global health programs and refugee resettlement initiatives.
Foreign aid is one area with more general agreement that there is 鈥渢oo much鈥� federal spending. Most U.S. adults, 56%, say the U.S. government is spending too much on assistance to other countries, which is down from 69% in .
There is a deep partisan divide on the issue, though. About 8 in 10 Republicans say the country is overspending on foreign aid, compared with about one-third of Democrats.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
