Kenneth Glad
Everyone dreams of getting paid to stay home. For thousands of civil servants, that fantasy briefly became reality. But as the dust settles, the final invoice for this massive experiment is raising serious questions across the country.
Last year, taxpayers footed a bill approaching $9.5 billion to compensate government workers who did zero work.
A fresh Government Accountability Office report reveals exactly where that massive sum vanished. Time Magazine notes the funds bankrolled a controversial push to downsize the sprawling civil service.
Nearly $6.7 billion fueled a scheme called deferred resignation. This initiative ran under the Department of Government Efficiency before the office closed.
Paid to walk away
Starting in early 2025, officials presented around two million public employees with an unusual bargain. They could walk away from their jobs immediately, yet continue collecting full salaries and benefits for nearly nine months.
Federal personnel bosses instructed departments to classify these exiting workers under a special paid absence status. Data shows just under 140,000 employees jumped at the lucrative deal.
The cuts hit some departments harder than others. USAID lost a staggering 95 percent of its staff, while the Department of Homeland Security saw almost no change.
Chasing massive savings
Elon Musk led the aggressive efficiency drive. Before stepping down last May, he originally promised to slash two trillion dollars from the sprawling federal budget.
His group eventually claimed $215 billion in savings. Auditors have not verified that number, and the accountability office found several calculations lacked solid proof.
Scott Kupor leads the Office of Personnel Management. He defended the strategy in a written response, predicting the staffing cuts will save $20 billion annually.
“This distinction is crucial: The savings recur every year, while the administrative leave costs with the DRP were incurred once,” Kupor said.
Pushback and legal fights
The workforce reduction created immediate gaps. Some agencies quickly hired over 20,000 people for roles identical to the ones they just paid workers to leave.
The strategy also sparked fierce legal battles. A federal judge recently blocked a plan to cut emergency management staff in half, ruling the move unlawful.
Critics remain furious. Senator Patty Murray, a top Democrat, accused the administration of ruining public services while wasting taxpayer money.
“Trump spent billions to push out experienced and badly needed experts across government,” Murray said. “This was the most expensive way imaginable to make government worse.”
Sources: Time Magazine, Government Accountability Office
