Trump Administration Paid Federal Workers $9.5 Billion Not to Work in 2025
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 15
Trump Administration Paid Federal Workers $9.5 Billion Not to Work in 2025
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 15
Summary
$9.5 billion went to federal employees who were not working in 2025 under the Trump administration’s DOGE workforce-cutting program, according to a new Government Accountability Office estimate.
GAO said deferred resignations and related moves drove a 435% jump in paid administrative leave during Trump’s first year back in office — about six times the 2023 level.
The payments sit inside a broader push to shrink the federal bureaucracy and curb spending, after Trump initially promised $1 trillion in savings.
The administration says its cost-cutting efforts have saved $200 billion, but outside experts have not independently confirmed that figure and the federal deficit has still risen.