The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work [View all]

Source: Washington Post

July 31, 2025 at 7:00 a.m. EDT


The government is paying more than 154,000 federal employees not to work as part of the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, according to two administration officials.

The number, which has not been previously reported, accounts for workers at dozens of agencies who took offers from the government as of June to get paid through Sept. 30 — the end of the fiscal year — or the end of 2025 and then voluntarily leave government, significantly reducing the size of several major agencies, according to two Office of Personnel Management officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose details of the administration’s plans to scale down government.

The buyouts have rapidly sped up the process of slashing the federal workforce at an unprecedented rate, the officials said. But critics have argued the administration’s tactics of using buyouts and administrative leave have been wasteful because the public is paying tens of thousands of employees not to work for months.

Officials could not say how much the government is spending on salaries for employees who are resigning. The timing of buyouts has varied by agency, employees remain on their agencies’ payrolls as long as they are on leave and some workers got additional payments through other retirement programs, as well. The officials also could not say how much they expect the cuts will save in payroll costs in the long term.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/31/federal-workers-doge-buyout-paid/