The US government paid federal workers $9.5 billion in 2025 for not working, as part of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce. This figure was revealed in a new report released on Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO, an independent watchdog, stated that the use of paid administrative leave by federal agencies rose by 435% from 2023 to 2025. This increase resulted in costs six times higher than what the government spent in 2023.
The “department of government efficiency” (Doge) efforts, spearheaded by Elon Musk, were associated with this rise. Of the $9.5 billion paid, $6.7 billion was linked to a deferred resignation program. The GAO reported that 144,312 employees across 76 agencies took paid administrative leave under this program in 2025.
The number of workdays of paid administrative leave increased from about 4 million in 2023 to approximately 21.6 million in 2025. Douglas Pasternak, research director of Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project, described the federal overhaul efforts as “haphazard,” pointing to issues such as delays in social security check deliveries and longer wait times at Veterans Affairs hospitals.