Report: US Paid Federal Workers Billions Not to Work
Listen to the story
A new government report says federal employees were paid billions of dollars to not work under a program connected to DOGE.
The report was released by the GAO, the Government Accountability Office, which reviews how public money is spent.
According to the GAO, a deferred resignation program paid outgoing employees nearly $7 billion, even though they had already agreed to leave their jobs.
Under this kind of program, workers accept a resignation deal but continue receiving pay and benefits for a set period before officially leaving.
The program was created as part of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative meant to cut costs across the federal government.
The Trump administration reportedly paid $9.5 billion in total to federal employees who were not working in 2025.
DOGE was originally designed to reduce government spending by shrinking the federal workforce.
However, this new report suggests that some cost-cutting measures actually led to large payouts rather than savings.
The findings have raised questions among lawmakers and the public about how effective DOGE's approach truly has been.
Some critics argue the program allowed the government to spend heavily on staff members who were no longer contributing work.
Supporters of DOGE, meanwhile, may argue that these payments were necessary to make the transition smoother.
The GAO report adds fresh evidence to the ongoing debate over the real financial impact of DOGE's federal workforce reforms.
Vocabulary10 words
- GAO
- a US government office that checks spending
- deferred resignation
- leaving a job later while still getting paid now
- DOGE
- a plan to make the US government smaller and cheaper
- federal employees
- workers for the national government
- administration
- the government under one leader
- workforce
- all the people who work somewhere
- payout
- a large payment of money
- initiative
- a new plan or action to reach a goal
- cost-cutting
- reducing how much money is spent
- lawmakers
- people who make laws, like in Congress
Quiz
Answer key
1. Federal employees were paid billions of dollars while not working 2. Workers agree to leave later but stop working while still being paid 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
A new government report says federal employees were paid _____ of dollars to not work under a program connected to DOGE.
The report was released by the _____, the Government Accountability Office, which reviews how public money is spent.
According to the GAO, a _____ resignation program paid outgoing employees nearly $7 billion.
Under this kind of program, workers accept a resignation deal but continue receiving pay and _____ for a set period.
The program was created as part of _____, the Department of Government Efficiency.
The Trump administration reportedly paid $9.5 _____ in total to federal employees who were not working in 2025.
DOGE was originally designed to reduce government spending by shrinking the federal _____.
However, this new report suggests that some cost-cutting measures actually led to large _____ rather than savings.
The findings have raised questions among _____ and the public about how effective DOGE's approach truly has been.
Some critics argue the program allowed the government to spend heavily on staff members who were no longer _____ work.
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