The Trump administration spent an estimated $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers in 2025, driven largely by a DOGE-era deferred resignation program that cost $6.7 billion and allowed nearly 140,000 employees to be paid through September after agreeing to quit. The GAO report found administrative leave costs rose sixfold and usage jumped 435% from 2023 to 2025 as part of efforts to shrink government, though the Office of Personnel Management acknowledged it cannot accurately track the true costs of these workforce reduction efforts.