The Long View
The Government Paid $6.7bn Last Year for Work Nobody Did
The Government Accountability Office estimates the deferred resignation programme cost $6.7bn in 2025, about 70 percent of the $9.5bn the federal government spent on paid administrative leave that year. Roughly 144,000 employees drew salaries while on leave before separating. GAO also says nobody can verify the savings, because the payroll data is not tracked that way.
