DOGE Federal Workforce Cuts Cost Trump Administration $6.7 Billion

The Trump administration's effort to shrink the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, has cost taxpayers $6.7 billion for employees who were not actively working, according to a new report cited by Fortune.

Paying for Idle Staff

The figure reflects the price tag of keeping federal workers on the payroll while they were sidelined from their normal duties, a byproduct of the administration's broader push to reduce the size of government. Fortune reports that the $6.7 billion figure represents money spent specifically on staff who were not performing their usual jobs, even as DOGE's stated goal was to cut costs and streamline federal operations.

Why It Matters for DOGE's Mission

DOGE, the government efficiency initiative associated with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, was launched with the aim of trimming federal spending and reducing the number of government employees. The billions spent on non-working staff highlight a tension at the heart of that mission: workforce reduction efforts can carry substantial short-term costs even as they aim to deliver long-term savings. Fortune's reporting suggests that the transition process itself, rather than the end state of a smaller workforce, has been a significant driver of expense for the administration.

Broader Context

The report adds to ongoing scrutiny of DOGE's impact since its creation, as government watchdogs, lawmakers, and the public continue to assess whether the initiative's cost-cutting ambitions are being met in practice. Because Musk has been publicly tied to DOGE, developments in the program's finances and outcomes are closely watched by those following his broader business and public interests, including Tesla investors. Fortune's report does not detail how the administration plans to address the spending or whether further changes to the workforce reduction approach are under consideration.

Source: Fortune