U.S. President Donald Trump is betting on refreshing the public administration's staff, an initiative aimed at attracting Generation Z professionals. His goal: "to make the government 'cool' again." However, this move comes at a time when the Republican's popularity is declining among 'zoomers' or 'centennials'—those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s who were among his most fervent voters in the 2024 presidential election, especially men.
The Generational Gap According to the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Scott Kupor, only about 7% of federal employees are under 30, compared to around 22% in other economic sectors. If this gap persists, Kupor warns, "the government is at risk of becoming the last of the dinosaurs." With this pretext, the Trump administration has now launched an initiative to connect recent graduates and young professionals with full-time positions at federal agencies, starting with five areas: finance, human resources, engineering, project management, and public hiring.
Candidates will be selected "based on demonstrated talent, not on whether or where they went to college or how many years they have in a position," Kupor explained, titling the plan with the slogan 'Making Government Cool Again.' The hiring campaign, however, presents a stark contrast to last year's initiatives, when the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pushed for large-scale staff reductions across nearly all federal agencies.
In the early days of his second term, Trump appointed business magnate Elon Musk to head DOGE to cut contracts and reduce staff, setting an initial goal of trimming $2 trillion from the federal budget—a target that, according to subsequent reports, appeared unmet. The fact is that between January 2025 and January 2026, the federal workforce saw the departure of 386,826 government employees.
Ahead of the Elections Trump faces the November midterm elections with significant erosion among younger voters, traditionally considered a volatile but key segment in determining congressional majorities. According to recent polls, Generation Z—digital natives who have never lived without the internet—has become one of the weakest flanks for the Republican president ahead of the electoral contest. A recent poll by the polling firm YouGov, conducted for The Economist, places Trump's disapproval rating among Gen Z citizens at around 67%, while only one in four young people approve of his management and policies.
That level of support constitutes the lowest recorded among all age groups and marks a historic low for this demographic since the businessman returned to the White House in 2025. In February of last year, similar polls showed that 18- to 29-year-olds gave Trump a 52% approval rating, with 42% of respondents disapproving of the president. U.S. media have echoed this diagnosis, pointing to a sustained deterioration in the president's image among this age group, which in 2024 became an unexpectedly relevant part of his base.
Why is Generation Z 'difficult' for Trump? CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten, has described Generation Z as a "very swingable" group and estimates their net approval at around negative 30 points. Despite Trump's bets on 'Gen Zers,' such as including them in his administration, analysts and experts agree that the behavior of these young voters—who two years ago contributed to Trump's return but today show growing rejection—will be decisive in defining the balance of power in Washington in the second half of the presidential term.
