US GOVERNMENT PAID FEDERAL WORKERS $9.5BN NOT TO WORK IN 2025

The US government paid federal employees $9.5 billion not to work in 2025, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress's watchdog. The payments came as the Trump administration sought to shrink the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge. Paid administrative leave rose 435% between 2023 and 2025, at six times the earlier cost, with workdays climbing from about 4 million to roughly 21.6 million. The report, published Tuesday, drew on payroll data covering about 95% of the federal workforce.

Of the $9.5 billion, up to $6.7 billion was linked to the administration's deferred resignation programme. The scheme, offered in January 2025, let about 2 million federal workers resign while receiving full pay and benefits until 30 September 2025. About 70% of 2025's paid leave was tied to the programme, the GAO said. Participation figures differ: the GAO recorded 144,312 employees taking leave under the scheme, while separate data put those accepting the offer at 139,963. The GAO said such leave is "a cost to taxpayers as employees receive full pay without performing job duties."

Senator Patty Murray said the administration had "set billions upon billions in taxpayer dollars on fire" to pay people not to work. The Office of Personnel Management disputed the report, saying the cost should be weighed against a claimed $40 billion in annual savings from cutting 270,000 employees. Douglas Pasternak of Public Citizen's Trump Accountability Project called the process "haphazard," citing delays to social security payments and hospital waits for veterans. Separate figures suggest the federal workforce has fallen by about 355,000 since January 2023, with some staff rehired after officials determined too many posts had been cut.