Trump administration spent $9.5 billion last year on employee leave, driven by DOGE-era cuts

Key Points:

• The Trump administration spent approximately $9.5 billion in 2025 on paid administrative leave for federal workers amid efforts to reduce government size, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
• Paid administrative leave usage surged by 435% from 2023 to 2025, with related salary costs increasing sixfold, coinciding with President Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk.
• About $6.7 billion of the increased costs stemmed from a "deferred resignation program" allowing nearly 140,000 federal employees who agreed to quit early in 2025 to continue receiving pay through September.
• The GAO noted that these figures are estimates, as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacks precise data on the actual costs of paid administrative leave used for workforce reductions, complicating long-term savings calculations.
• The deferred resignation program was announced early in Trump's second term, offering federal workers a choice to leave with an eight-month payout, reflecting a broader push to reshape the federal workforce similar to Musk’s restructuring at X.