A new government report showing that the administration spent $7 billion paying staff not to work as it pushed its buyouts is sparking the latest round of scrutiny of President Trump's DOGE era. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated the administration spent $6.7 billion on administrative leave after Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk launched the buyouts. Employees who took the buyout were paid through the end of the fiscal year, with some workers free from their duties for months on end while still receiving a paycheck as part of their deferred resignation. The report issued Tuesday found that compared with 2023, use of paid leave in 2025 jumped 435 percent.