Lawmakers see waste in DOGE’s ‘stupid’ $7B buyout costs

A Government Accountability Office report released this week found that the administration spent roughly $7 billion compensating employees who were placed on administrative leave as buyout programs were implemented. The GAO’s own estimate for administrative-leave costs tied to those actions was about $6.7 billion, according to the report.

The findings have renewed pressure from lawmakers who criticized the buyout approach as wasteful. Some members of Congress described the expenditures as excessive and used stark language to underscore their objections, arguing the sums represented poor stewardship of federal resources.

The GAO report attributes the bulk of the costs to actions by the Department of Government Efficiency as it pushed its planned workforce reductions. The analysis by the government’s watchdog has provided a quantitative basis for lawmakers’ concerns and for further oversight into the decision-making behind the buyouts.

Officials and congressional staff have signaled they will continue scrutinizing the details of the GAO’s findings to determine whether policy or procedural changes are needed to prevent similar costs in future workforce adjustments. The report sets the stage for additional hearings and potential inquiries into how the buyouts were managed and funded.