Federal agencies spent $9.5 billion on salary costs for administrative leave in 2025

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Federal agencies spent $9.5 billion on salary costs for administrative leave in 2025. (2026, September 17). CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/federal-agencies-spent-95-billion-on-salary-costs-for-administrative-leave-in-2025/

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CBS News · collected 2026-09-17

Quick Summary

The Government Accountability Office reported that federal agencies spent $9.5 billion on salary costs for employees on administrative leave in 2025. This expenditure increased due to efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, according to CBS News correspondent Aaron Navarro.

Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In 2025, during Donald Trump's second term, the U.S. government spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers, a significant increase from previous years due to mass firings and buyout programs initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Approximately 140,000 employees accepted deferred resignation offers allowing them full pay until September 30, 2025, while not performing work duties, contributing to a 600% rise in administrative leave salary costs from 2023 to 2025. This program was part of broader efforts to reduce the federal workforce by over 271,000 employees since Trump took office. Critics like Senator Patty Murray argue this approach wasted taxpayer dollars, while supporters claim long-term savings of up to $40 billion annually, despite controversy over its financial impact and operational effectiveness.

Written for “DOGE Buyout Costs” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 DOGE Buyout Costs

Economy/Business · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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“While both articles discuss a $9.5 billion expenditure on administrative leave costs, they refer to different reporting periods and do not specify that they are describing the exact same incident.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims