Trump Deferred Resignation Plan Cost $15 Billion, Democrats Say

The government paid nearly $15 billion for 200,000 federal employees not to work after taking deferred resignation packages, according to a reportfrom Senate Democrats.

A total of $21.7 billion was wasted on layoffs and terminations, according to the report, written and released Thursday by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s investigations panel. That figure included alleged waste associated with reinstating fired employees as legal challenges played out, severance to employees who were fired, costs related to reorganization, and buyouts spurred by the Department of Government Efficiency.

The Trump administration contends that more than 156,000 federal employees took deferred resignation offers or are otherwise being paid to stay home, but at a savings of $20 billion, according to McLaurine Pinover, a spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management. Pinover did not explain where that savings to the government is generated from.

The report calls into question how much money the Trump administration actually saved by cutting the federal workforce this year.

The government spent $5 billion on severance pay for 68,420 employees, and another $611,000 for prolonged administrative leave at four agencies, the report states.

DOGE leaders claimed to have saved taxpayers $199 billion by slashing wasteful spending, but those figures have been questioned by independent fact checkers.

DOGE’s itself has cost more than $50 million, according to the Democratic report. That includes about $9.4 million for wages and benefits, as well $41.1 million given to DOGE by the White House in the early days of the administration. Some DOGE staffers were hired at senior levels despite lacking experience in government, the report says.

The power of DOGE has reportedly diminished since Elon Musk left as the group’s figurehead, though officials associated with the effort are present at many agencies. It has gutted whole agencies, including the Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.