Hindustan Times ·
Trump administration paid employees $9.5 billion not to work in 2025: Report
The federal government spent $9.5 billion on compensating employees not working in 2025 due to Musk's DOGE initiatives, drastically increasing paid leave.
The federal government expended $9.5 billion in compensation to employees who were not performing work during 2025, a consequence of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiatives.
According to reporting by The New York Times, which references a recent assessment from the Government Accountability Office, DOGE's deferred resignations initiative resulted in a 435 percent expansion of paid administrative leave throughout 2025. This represents an escalation exceeding six-fold compared to 2023 levels.
12 percent reduction in the federal workforce
Since the presidential inauguration in January of the preceding year, President Donald Trump and Musk's initiatives have resulted in a 12 percent reduction in the federal workforce. However, this workforce contraction has failed to generate corresponding financial savings.
Although the Trump administration asserts that governmental expenditures have been reduced by more than $200 billion, such claims remain unsubstantiated. Similarly, the federal deficit has experienced a substantial increase, primarily attributable to military expenditures related to the Iran conflict and the Republican tax reduction legislation enacted during the previous fiscal year.