Feds paid $9.5 billion in leave costs in 2025 due to DOGE buyout
Summary
The Trump administration spent $9.5 billion in 2025 on paid leave for federal employees who took a buyout offer to leave their jobs. This was part of a plan to reduce the size of the federal workforce, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says it is unclear if the expected cost savings have been achieved.Key Facts
- The government paid $9.5 billion in administrative leave costs in 2025, a sixfold increase from 2023.
- $6.7 billion of these costs came from employees participating in the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), a buyout plan to reduce federal jobs.
- The DRP was managed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and ran starting in January 2025.
- About 144,312 employees accepted the buyout, fewer than the 200,000 initially projected.
- Peak paid leave related to DRP occurred in July 2025, with 2.5 million of 3 million leave days due to the program.
- OPM Director Scott Kupor said the $9.5 billion was a one-time cost that aims to save taxpayers $40 billion per year by cutting 270,000 federal jobs.
- The GAO report criticized the lack of clear data and transparency about whether the savings goals from workforce reduction have been met.
- Since President Trump took office in January 2025, about 271,000 federal employees have left government jobs.
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