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Trump Paid $9.5 Billion to Federal Workers on Leave in 2025

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A GAO report finds the U.S. government spent an estimated $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave in 2025, most tied to the DOGE-led resignation scheme.

The Trump administration spent an estimated $9.5 billion in 2025 on federal employees who were kept on administrative leave, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The payments came as the government pushed to shrink its workforce and cut spending.

Roughly $6.7 billion of that sum flowed through the administration's deferred resignation programme. The scheme sat at the centre of a downsizing drive run by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was headed by billionaire Elon Musk. Workers who agreed to quit were allowed to keep drawing their pay until September 30, 2025.

The programme opened in January 2025, extending a single offer to around two million federal staff: resign now, keep collecting a salary through September. Federal workforce records cited by the GAO show 139,963 employees eventually took the deal. The Agriculture, Defence and Treasury departments logged the highest counts of takers.

The use of paid administrative leave surged during the effort. Across federal agencies, it climbed 435% between 2023 and 2025. Reported workdays spent on such leave jumped from roughly 4 million in 2023 to 21.6 million last year.

The staffing changes were sweeping. GAO figures record nearly 378,000 departures from 22 major agencies over the course of 2025, against about 127,000 new hires. Headcount at those agencies dropped by more than 11% between December 2024 and January 2026.

No clear tally of long-term savings

The watchdog said the government cannot yet show what the reductions will save over time. The Office of Personnel Management lacks a dependable way to trace how much administrative leave was tied specifically to the downsizing programmes. Without that link, the immediate bill for paying idle employees cannot be weighed against the savings from their exits.

The $9.5 billion estimate carries its own warning label. The GAO flagged flaws in the leave records behind the number and said the real figure may differ. One problem stood out: pay periods that included public holidays showed unusually high leave totals, even though those holidays should never have been logged as administrative leave.

Some agencies have already begun hiring back for jobs vacated by departing staff. Recruitment has covered lawyers and technology specialists, with agencies leaning more heavily toward early-career recruits. The Partnership for Public Service estimates that more than 20,000 posts emptied by deferred resignations have since been refilled.

Democrats attack the price tag

Opponents have challenged both the cost and the fallout, warning that the exodus stripped the government of seasoned staff and opened gaps in key roles. Sen. Patty Murray, the senior Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, went after the spending in a statement issued Tuesday.

"Trump spent billions to push out experienced and badly needed experts across government," Murray said, calling it a costly route to a smaller workforce.

The administration has stood by the overhaul, casting it as part of a wider push to trim the size and expense of the federal government.

Keywords: Trump administration federal workforce, GAO report administrative leave, deferred resignation programme, DOGE Elon Musk, federal employees paid leave, government workforce reduction, Office of Personnel Management, Patty Murray

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