A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on Tuesday found that the federal government spent $9.5 billion on administrative leave for employees in 2025. The GAO, a legislative branch agency that audits federal spending, reported that this figure represents a 435% increase in paid leave costs compared to 2023.
The increase was attributed to the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), a buyout initiative launched in January 2025 by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The program was part of a broader effort led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce the size of the federal workforce by offering incentives for employees to resign.
Under the terms of the DRP, participating employees agreed to resign or stop working while continuing to receive their salaries through September 30, 2025. The GAO report estimated that 144,312 employees accepted this buyout offer, though the administration had initially projected that 200,000 workers would participate. Paid leave usage peaked in July 2025, when the DRP accounted for 2.5 million of the 3 million total federal leave workdays reported that month.
OPM Director Scott Kupor responded to the report on Wednesday, characterizing the $9.5 billion as a "one-time expense" necessary to achieve long-term fiscal benefits. Kupor stated that the reduction of 270,000 employees would result in $40 billion in annual taxpayer savings, which he described as a "400% return on investment." However, the GAO noted in its report that it could not verify if these long-term savings goals were being met due to a lack of specific data tracking for workforce reduction costs.
The report also noted discrepancies in how government efficiency is measured. While DOGE claimed through its "Wall of Receipts" that it had cut $110 billion in federal funding, a previous GAO report found that DOGE could not provide verifiable methods for 96% of those claimed savings. To address these issues, the GAO has recommended that the OPM create a new, distinct category for tracking paid administrative leave used for workforce reduction. The OPM has reported that 271,000 total employees have left the government since January 2025, but the long-term impact on the federal budget remains a subject of investigation by government auditors.