GAO Finds Billions in Exit Pay Tied to Trump’s Push to Shrink Federal Workforce
TL;DR
A GAO audit reports the Trump administration’s aggressive effort to shrink the federal workforce included a $6.7 billion paid-exit program for workers who quit, part of a broader push that cut the federal headcount by about 300,000 (13%) since 2024 to its smallest size in nearly two decades. The administration touts hundreds of billions in savings, while critics warn the strategy eroded expertise and left agencies understaffed.
- Trump administration paid federal workers $6.7B to quit, GAO audit says Politico
- Thanks to DOGE, Federal Employees Got Paid Billions to Not Work Time Magazine
- US government paid federal employees $9.5bn not to work amid Doge cuts – report The Guardian
- Trump administration paid federal employees $9.5 billion not to work in 2025 under DOGE plan CNN
- Federal employees were paid nearly $7B not to work under DOGE effort: GAO The Hill
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