Washington DC – A recent report found that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk spent billions of dollars to put federal workers on paid administrative leave amid efforts to shrink the government.
A report published Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a congressional watchdog group, found that Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) increased “deferred resignations” of federal employees by 435% in 2025.
In short, the Trump administration paid federal employees $9.5 billion not to work last year.
When Trump ran for re-election in 2024, Musk donated more than $228 million to his campaign and appeared at events across the country to support the Republican candidate.
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After winning, Trump tapped Musk to head DOGE, and the two promised to make drastic cuts to the government that would supposedly save taxpayers $1 trillion.
According to The New York Times, their efforts led the civilian workforce to shrink by about 12% since Trump’s return to office.
Of that money, GAO reported that $6.7 billion went towards the deferred resignation program, which provided workers a “Fork in the Road” offer in January 2025 to resign and receive pay through August.
Federal data found that 139,963 federal employees ended up taking the deal.
Since Musk left his role as a temporary government employee, the Trump administration has claimed DOGE only ended up saving $200 billion – a figure that financial experts have contested.
