The Administration’s deferred resignation programs (DRP) cost between $11.1 and $15 billion to pay feds to not work, according to Public Citizen in a recent report. Almost 140,000 federal employees voluntarily left government service since President Trump took office and offered incentives for their departure, resulting in the cost through March 2026. The costs could rise, as some agencies have offered new rounds of the DRP this year.

Initially begun with the “fork in the road” email from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January 2025, feds were given an opportunity to resign but continue receiving a paycheck through the end of Fiscal Year 2025 (September 30, 2025). Retirement-eligible feds by the end of the year could be paid through 2025.

Despite the criticism of the costs for paying feds to stay home, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) responded to the report by pointing to longer-term savings expected as a result of the DRPs, which it estimates at $20 billion per year going forward.