The idea that the government is wasteful and inefficient has been a long-held view by most Americans for decades, surveys have found. And Americans mostly support the concept of the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as DOGE.

But they generally are not pleased with many of the details, particularly the involvement of the billionaire businessman Elon Musk, according to a New York Times review of polls on the subject. And concern begins to transcend predictable partisan divisions when voters are asked about DOGE’s plans to access sensitive information such as the data the government has on Americans.