DOGE’s push to shrink the federal workforce cost the Trump administration $6.7 billion for employees not to work

Photo: President Donald Trump participates in a press conference with departing DOGE adviser Elon Musk, Friday, May 30, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley). Attribution: “P20250530MR-0209” by The White House via Flickr. United States Government Work. Article by Sasha Rogelberg. Yahoo News Canada – updated September 23, 2026. This article was originally featured on Fortune.com.

The largest mass resignation in history has become a multi-billion dollar headache for the U.S. government. A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzing payroll data found a 435% increase in federal agencies’ use of administrative leave between 2023 and 2025, amounting to $9.5 billion in paid salaries to off-the-clock employees. The watchdog attributed $6.7 billion of the total to the deferred resignation program implemented under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as part of its efforts to cut down the federal workforce. […]

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