A watchdog report by the Government Accountability Office reveals that the Trump administration spent nearly $7 billion on buyouts aimed at reducing federal bureaucracy through Elon Musk’s “Fork in the Road” initiative. Launched shortly after President Trump took office in January 2025, this program offered federal workers deferred resignations with eight months of pay and benefits. About 140,000 employees accepted the offer, which was defended by the administration as a cost-effective measure that saved taxpayers $40 billion annually. However, the Office of Personnel Management criticized the GAO report for not highlighting these long-term savings adequately.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In 2025, the Trump administration spent an estimated $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers, primarily due to a deferred resignation program initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The DOGE, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, aimed to shrink the government's size and cost structure. During this period, approximately 140,000 federal employees opted into the program, accepting offers to resign while still receiving full pay until September 2025. This resulted in a 435% increase in administrative leave costs from 2023 to 2025, with around $6.7 billion allocated specifically for this deferred resignation initiative. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defended the program, arguing that despite the initial high cost, it saved taxpayers an estimated $40 billion annually thereafter by reducing the federal workforce by over 271,000 employees as of July 2025.
Written for “DOGE Buyout Costs” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 14019: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-16
The Trump administration paid nearly $7 billion as part of an effort to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, according to a watchdog report released Tuesday.
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administration → pay → report
The Government Accountability Office said the government spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave, including $6.7 billion spent on the Department of Government Efficiency’s initiative to incentivize federal workers to leave their jobs via deferred resignations, marking a 435% increase in paid administrative leave costs.
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government → say → costs
The Trump administration defended the “one-time” deferred resignation expense, saying it has helped save taxpayers overall $40 billion annually.
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it → defend → billion
Around 140,000 workers took the voluntary buyout offer from the government in DOGE’s “Fork in the Road” invitation, which launched shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2025 and was headed by X owner Elon Musk.
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Trump → take → Musk
The offer featured incentives to leave the bureaucracy by allowing federal staffers to resign and receive around eight months of pay and benefits without having to work.
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staffers → feature → pay
Those who opted into the program received pay through September 2025.
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who → opt → September
The Office of Personnel Management criticized GAO’s report, arguing it “fails to highlight the difference between a one-time expense ($9.5 billion) to reduce the size of the federal government by 270,000 employees and the $40 billion per year savings in taxpayer dollars that this reduction provides.”
“That 400% return on investment is a massive benefit to the taxpayer,” OPM director Scott Kupor told the Washington Examiner.
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Kupor → criticize → Examiner
GAO said in its report that OPM does not know the actual costs of the paid administrative leave used for workforce reduction efforts, including the deferred resignation program.
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OPM → say → program
GAO’s report also emphasized that it identified limitations with the paid administrative leave data reported by federal agencies, which could overstate the actual amount used, writing that federal agencies reported 144% more paid administrative leave used in pay periods with a public holiday in 2023 through early 2025, even though holidays should not be reported as paid administrative leave.
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holidays → emphasize → leave
Musk’s “Fork in the Road” program was challenged in court by major unions for federal employees, but a district judge in February 2025 dismissed the lawsuit against the Trump administration.
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judge → challenge → administration
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole said the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the deferred resignation program because they were not directly impacted by it.
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they → say → it
“Instead, they allege that the directive subjects them to upstream effects including a diversion of resources to answer members’ questions about the directive, a potential loss of membership, and possible reputational harm,” O’Toole wrote in his decision.
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O’Toole → allege → decision
Roughly 140,000 federal workers took advantage of the deferred resignation program.
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workers → take → program
The Trump administration ended up rehiring at least 25,000 fired bureaucrats.
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administration → end → bureaucrats
In response to lawsuits from a slew of Democratic-led states, Maryland and California judges ruled in March 2025 that the terminations of thousands of probationary workers were illegal.
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terminations → lead → workers
Many of those workers were rehired by the departments of Agriculture, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services, among other federal agencies.
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Many → rehire → agencies
“It’s been emotional whiplash — you’re fired, no, you’re not fired, you’re on administrative leave — so many mixed messages,” a reinstated employee at the Department of Transportation previously told the Washington Examiner.
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employee → fire → Examiner
“This is taking a toll on my mental health, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking for opportunities elsewhere.”
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I → take → opportunities
The Aporia
