Report: US Paid Federal Workers Billions Not to Work

A newly released government report has found that federal employees were paid billions of dollars not to work, under a program tied to the Trump administration's DOGE initiative.

The report, published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent agency that audits federal spending, examined the financial impact of a deferred resignation scheme offered to outgoing federal workers.

According to the GAO's findings, the program paid nearly $7 billion to employees who had already agreed to leave government service but continued to receive full compensation before their official departure.

The scheme was part of a broader effort under DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, which was established to streamline federal operations and reduce overall expenditure.

The GAO's analysis further indicates that, in total, the Trump administration paid $9.5 billion to federal employees who were not actively working during 2025.

This figure has intensified debate over whether DOGE's restructuring strategy has actually achieved its stated aim of cutting costs across federal agencies.

Critics argue that instead of generating savings, the deferred resignation program effectively created a costly gap between when employees stopped working and when they formally left their positions, resulting in substantial payouts funded by taxpayers.

Supporters of the initiative, however, may contend that such transitional payments were a necessary trade-off to accelerate workforce reductions without triggering legal disputes or abrupt service disruptions.

The report does not provide extensive detail on how individual agencies were affected, but it underscores the scale of federal spending tied to DOGE's downsizing approach.

Lawmakers and watchdog groups are expected to scrutinize the findings further as they assess whether DOGE's methods represent effective governance or a costly miscalculation.

The GAO's disclosure adds a new dimension to ongoing discussions about the true financial consequences of large-scale federal workforce reform efforts introduced during this administration.