In 2025, the United States federal government spent $9.5 billion on administrative leave — a 435% increase from two years prior — as the Trump administration pursued one of the most sweeping workforce reductions in modern federal history. At the center of this effort was the Deferred Resignation Program, which invited federal employees to walk away from their posts while continuing to draw a paycheck for months. The promise was a $40 billion annual return on a one-time investment, but the Government Accountability Office has found that the ledger remains unreadable — and that the true cost of
Federal government spent $9.5B on leave costs in 2025 amid DOGE workforce cuts
Approximately 271,000 federal employees left government employment since January 2025 through the buyout program and related workforce reduction efforts.