A government workforce reduction program championed by the Trump administration cost taxpayers at least $11 billion while allowing nearly 140,000 federal employees to remain on the payroll without working, according to a new report from watchdog group Public Citizen. The analysis argues the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), introduced in early 2025 as part of the administration's effort to shrink the federal government, ultimately imposed significant financial costs while forcing several agencies to rehire employees they had encouraged to leave.
Drawing on data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Public Citizen estimates the program will cost between $11.1 billion and $15.1 billion through March 2026. The organization describes the lower figure as a conservative estimate because it excludes broader economic and operational consequences tied to the workforce reductions.
The DRP allowed eligible federal employees to resign while continuing to receive salaries for months. Under the first round of the program, 139,628 workers accepted the offer and remained on the federal payroll through October 2025. A second phase, launched in April 2025, extended paid departures through September and, in some cases, until the end of December for employees planning to retire.
According to Public Citizen, more than 106,000 participants officially left federal service in September 2025, with another 24,000 departing by the end of the year. The report argues the money spent on the initiative could have funded other public priorities, including billions of school lunches or the annual salaries of thousands of teachers.
The workforce reductions reached across much of the federal government. Public Citizen reported that the Department of Defense lost more than 48,000 civilian employees, while the Treasury Department shed roughly 23,000 workers and the Department of Agriculture lost more than 14,500 staff members. The report also said staffing at the Internal Revenue Service fell by approximately 25% over a four-month period.
The watchdog cited research from Yale University's Budget Lab estimating that a 22% reduction in IRS staffing could reduce federal tax collections by nearly $197.7 billion over the next decade because of weaker tax enforcement, particularly among higher-income taxpayers.
Public Citizen said the staffing cuts also disrupted agency operations, noting that at least 10 federal agencies ultimately rehired employees who had accepted deferred resignation offers after determining they were needed to fulfill congressionally mandated responsibilities. Several legal challenges have also resulted in court orders requiring some terminated employees to be reinstated, although litigation over parts of the administration's workforce policies remains ongoing.
Public Citizen researcher Douglas Pasternak sharply criticized the initiative, calling it "stupid, costly and deadly." He added, "The administration has spent more than $11 billion on the Deferred Resignation Program alone, paying 140,000 federal workers to stay home or take vacation while they were still being paid by the American taxpayer." Pasternak also said agencies were forced to rehire participants "because Trump officials realised how vital they were to managing critical national programs."
