FEDERAL HARMS TRACKER
The Cost to Our Economy
Cost Breakdown by Category
Explore detailed costs across two key areas of federal management
Workforce
$70,995,233,975.34
Costs associated with actions related to the federal workforce including separations, rehiring and staffing shortages.
Rehiring terminated federal employees
After large numbers of federal employees were terminated by the Trump administration as part of the effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce, some were rehired or brought back to work in response to court orders or as agencies realized they needed those individuals. This cost covers the administrative expenses involved in reinstating terminated employees such as restoring their IT and building access, the paperwork needed to implement their return and arranging for any necessary training, among other items. Our calculation is based on a January 2026 accounting of terminated employees who were reinstated and an estimate of the administrative cost per employee.
$12,101,090
Paying federal employees who separated through DRP
In an effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce in 2025, the Trump administration offered the deferred resignation program in which employees could resign and stop working while continuing to receive their salary and benefits until the end of the fiscal year in September or the calendar year in December, depending on the program. This left the government paying the salaries of tens of thousands of federal employees who did not work for months. This cost calculation is based on the estimated number of people who entered the deferred resignation program each month, as recorded in the Federal Harms Tracker, multiplied by the number of weeks until the end of the program and the average weekly salary of federal employees.
Sources: Harms Tracker, OPM
$4,508,306,304.71
Disengaged federal employees
The Trump administration’s intentional upheaval of the federal workforce has had a direct impact on employee engagement across government. Previous Gallup research suggests that a disengaged employee costs their organization approximately 34% of their annual salary, with lower engagement resulting in lower productivity and mission delivery. This estimate covers the financial cost of disengagement among federal employees. It is calculated by multiplying the number of employees on board in late 2025 by the share of disengaged employees as measured by the Public Service Viewpoint Survey. This number is then multiplied by 34% of the average annual salary for federal employees.
$53,181,695,201.85
Loss to real GDP from reduction in hours worked by furloughed federal employees during 2025 shutdown
There was a six-week government shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025 when appropriations lapsed for agencies across the federal government. A government shutdown incurs economic costs in the form of losses to real GDP, as the furlough of federal employees and the halting of many government activities reduces economic output. Most of this loss is recovered once a shutdown ends and economic activity resumes. However, the losses that result from the hours not worked by furloughed federal employees during the shutdown are not recoverable. This cost covers the loss to real GDP from the reduction in hours worked by federal employees during the shutdown.
Sources: CBO
$11,000,000,000
Lost National Park Service entrance and recreation fees during 2025 shutdown
During the 2025 federal government shutdown, the administration kept national parks open, but with much of the parks’ staff furloughed, there were not enough employees to collect entrance and recreation fees from visitors. This cost covers the revenue lost due to uncollected NPS fees based on an estimate of the daily revenue from these fees multiplied by the length of the shutdown.
Source: NPCA
$41,000,000
Legal costs related to the closure of USAID
In spring 2025, the Trump administration worked to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development by placing employees on leave and then terminating them and canceling much of the agency’s funding. This cost covers the estimated legal expenses related to the closure as the administration defends its moves in court.
Source: Bloomberg Government
$344,000,000
Funding DOGE employees, resources and activities
During the initial months of the Trump administration, the Department of Government Efficiency was at the epicenter of efforts to slash spending and sharply reduce agency workforces, although their activities more often created chaos without generating savings. DOGE was primarily staffed by special government employees brought in from outside for limited terms and then often embedded within federal agencies. This cost covers the budgetary resources allocated for DOGE activities and reimbursements it received from other federal agencies.
Source: OpenOMB
$81,000,000
Severance pay for employees subject to reductions-in-force
Federal employees subject to reductions-in-force are entitled to severance pay. Specific severance payments are dependent on an employee’s salary, age and years of federal service. This cost covers the total severance pay for the more than 10,000 federal employees who left the federal workforce via a reduction in force from January 2025 through January 2026. The calculation uses two estimates of average severance pay sourced from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee—one for federal employees under age 40 and one for employees age 40 and older.
$763,960,579.07
Administrative leave for probationary employees
In early 2025, the Trump administration attempted to fire more than 20,000 federal employees who were in their probationary periods, meaning that they had less than one year (or two years, in some cases) of service in their current position and thus fewer civil service protections to prevent their firing. However, the firing of probationary employees was challenged in the courts, and some employees were eventually brought back to work. While the legal cases were playing out, thousands of these probationary employees remained on administrative leave and received pay without being able to work. This cost covers the salaries and benefits paid to probationary employees who were on administrative leave in early 2025. It is calculated based on average weekly salary for the about 20,000 probationary employees on leave multiplied by the number of weeks they did not work.
Source: HSGAC
$443,874,397.32
Executing reductions-in-force
Reductions-in-force are the federal government’s mechanism for layoffs. They are governed by a complex process by which agencies determine which employees are eligible to be included in a RIF. The Trump administration turned to RIFs to reduce the size of the federal workforce in 2025. While the administration proposed more RIFs than were carried out, over 10,000 federal employees were separated via a RIF between January 2025 and January 2026. This cost covers the administrative expenses of executing reductions-in-force. It is calculated by multiplying the number of employees separated via a RIF by an estimate of the administrative cost of conducting a reduction-in-force, translated into 2025 dollars.
Sources: OPM, GAO
$5,854,596
Extended administrative leave at CFPB
At some federal agencies, the administration placed large swaths of the workforce on administrative leave for long periods of time, preventing employees from doing their jobs while continuing to pay them. This occurred primarily at agencies the administration was attempting to shut down. At the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, almost the entire agency staff was placed on administrative leave in February 2025. This estimate covers the salary and benefits costs of CFPB employees on administrative leave through July 2025, calculated by multiplying the average weekly pay of agency employees by the number of weeks they were on leave. Some CFPB employees may still be on administrative leave, but their status is difficult to determine after July.
Source: HSGAC
$152,337,495.51
Extended administrative leave at United States Agency for Global Media
At some federal agencies, the administration placed large swaths of the workforce on administrative leave for long periods of time, preventing employees from doing their jobs while continuing to pay them. The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), and particularly its subsidiary Voice of America, is another agency where the majority of employees were placed on long-term administrative leave as the administration attempted to close the agency and was then challenged in court. This cost includes the salary and benefits of USAGM federal employees who were placed on administrative leave and paid while unable to do their jobs. It is calculated by multiplying the average weekly pay of agency employees by the number of weeks they were on leave from March 2025 through March 2026.
Sources: Washington Post, OPM, NPR
$126,335,541.53
Extended administrative leave at USAID
At some federal agencies, the administration placed large swaths of the workforce on administrative leave for long periods of time, preventing employees from doing their jobs while continuing to pay them. This occurred primarily at agencies the administration was attempting to shut down. The administration placed the vast majority of employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave in preparation for firing them as it moved to close down the agency. This cost covers the salary and benefits of USAID employees who were on administrative leave from February 2025 until their terminations in July 2025. It is calculated by multiplying the average weekly pay of agency employees by the number of weeks they were on leave.
$298,135,590.26
Extended administrative leave at Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights
At the Department of Education, the administration issued reduction-in-force notices in March 2025 to hundreds of employees within the agency’s Office of Civil Rights. As a legal battle over the RIFs played out, those employees were placed on extended administrative leave, receiving their pay and benefits without being able to work. The RIF notices were eventually rescinded and the majority of employees began to return from leave in December 2025. While other employees across the Department of Education were also placed on administrative leave, there is not enough information at this time to determine the number of employees and leave duration to calculate the cost. This cost covers the pay and benefits for Office of Civil Rights employees on administrative leave and is calculated by multiplying the average weekly pay of agency employees by the number of weeks that they were on leave.
$36,633,179.09
Behind the Numbers
How Chaotic Mass Firings Led to a Rehiring Crisis
Elaine Kamarck, director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, discusses the impact of widespread and non-strategic firings of federal workers which resulted in 25,747 instances where the Trump administration fired and hired back federal employees.
Calculation Methodology
Unit: 25,747, the estimated number of rehired Federal employees
Multiplier: 470, based on an estimate of $4,700 as the average cost to hire a new employee, multiplied by 0.1 under an assumption that rehiring expenses are about 10% of the expenses for hiring a new employee
Total Cost:
$12,101,090
Calculation Methodology
Formula: Employees * Number of Weeks on Leave * Average Weekly Salary
137,078 employees separated through the deferred resignation program, broken down by month as recorded in the Federal Harms Tracker. Employees are grouped by the number of weeks between when they were accepted into the program and the end of the program as follows:
1,225 employees x 30.6 weeks
2,374 employees x 26.1 weeks
2,700 employees x 21.9 weeks
34,048 employees x 17.4 weeks
5,300 employees x 13.1 weeks
85,761 employees x 8.7 weeks
2,620 employees x 6.7 weeks
3,050 employees x 1 week
Multiplier: $2,055, the average weekly salary of federal employees as of September 2024
An additional 38% is then added to the final number, as federal benefits are estimated to be about 38% of salary.
Total Cost:
$4,508,306,304.71
Calculation Methodology
Unit: 10,436, the number of employees separated via a reduction-in-force
Multiplier: $561, based on a 1983 GAO estimate of an administrative cost of $172 per RIFed employee, translated into September 2025 dollars
Total Cost:
$5,854,596
Calculation Methodology
Unit: Average Federal Salary ($110,874 as of fiscal 2026) * Disengaged Employees (2,074,649 Total Federal Employees in December 2025 * 68% Disengagement Rate)
Multiplier: 0.34, based on an estimate that disengaged employees cost their organization approximately 34% of their annual salary
Total Cost:
$53,181,695,201.85
Calculation Methodology
Formula: Estimated Severance Pay * Employees Affected (10,436 RIFed Employees * Percentage of Federal Workforce in Age Range as of September 2024)
Employees eligible for severance pay are separated into two groups based on age as follows:
Employees Under 40: $10,713.60 * 2,939 employees (10,436 x 0.27)
Employees 40+: $96,552.54 * 7,597 (10,436 x 0.73)
An additional 38% is then added to the final number, as federal benefits are estimated to be about 38% of salary.
Total Cost:
$763,960,579.07
Calculation Methodology
Formula: Employees on Leave * Weeks on Leave * Average Weekly Salary
Employees are grouped by the number of weeks they are estimated to have been on administrative leave:
800 employees * 12.8 weeks
639 employees * 38.1 weeks
Multiplier: $2,646.96 (average weekly salary at USAGM as of September 2024)
An additional 38% is then added to the final number, as federal benefits are estimated to be about 38% of salary.
Total Cost:
$126,335,541.53
Calculation Methodology
Formula: Employees on Leave * Weeks on Leave * Average Weekly Salary
Unit: 247 employees * 38.4 weeks on leave
Multiplier: $2,796.69 (average weekly salary at Dept. of Education as of September 2024)
An additional 38% is then added to the final number, as federal benefits are estimated to be about 38% of salary.
Total Cost:
$36,633,179.09
Calculation Methodology
Unit: $492,282,294, the remaining unspent funds from terminated NIH grants
Multiplier: 2.56, based on the estimate that every $1 in federal grant funding returns $2.56 in economic benefits
Total Cost:
$1,260,242,671.36,600.90
Calculation Methodology
Unit: $692,990,208, the remaining unspent funds from terminated NSF grants
Multiplier: 2.56, based on the estimate that every $1 in federal grant funding returns $2.56 in economic benefits
Total Cost:
$1,774,054,931.46
Calculation Methodology
Unit: $389,066,124, the remaining unspent funds from terminated SAMSHA grants
Multiplier: 2.56, based on the estimate that every $1 in federal grant funding returns $2.56 in economic benefits
Total Cost:
$996,009,278.21
Calculation Methodology
Unit: $28,453,857,377, the remaining unspent funds from terminated EPA grants
Multiplier: 2.56, based on the estimate that every $1 in federal grant funding returns $2.56 in economic benefits
Total Cost:
$72,841,874,885.12
Calculation Methodology
Unit: $6,937,236,880, the remaining unspent funds from terminated CDC grants
Multiplier: 2.56, based on the estimate that every $1 in federal grant funding returns $2.56 in economic benefits
Total Cost:
$17,759,326,412.80
Assistance
$94,631,508,178.95
Economic costs from terminated grants, frozen payments and canceled federal assistance programs.
Loss from terminated NIH grants
While the Trump administration worked to slash federal spending, it canceled numerous federal grants, including many that funded scientific research. Federal spending on scientific research has an economic impact beyond the grant itself, with each dollar in grant funding resulting in an estimated $2.56 in economic benefits. Canceling grants with funds still left to be spent prevents the economic benefit of those funds from being realized. This cost covers the loss from terminated National Institutes of Health grants. It is based on an accounting of terminated NIH grants as of February 2026 and is calculated by multiplying the remaining unspent funds from those terminated grants by the economic multiplier.
Sources: Grant Witness, SCIMap
$1,260,242,671.36
Loss from terminated National Science Foundation grants
As the Trump administration worked to slash federal spending, it canceled many already awarded federal grants, including those for scientific research. Federal spending on scientific research has an economic impact beyond the grant itself, with each dollar in grant funding resulting in an estimated $2.56 in economic benefits. Canceling grants with funds still left to be spent prevents the economic benefits of those funds from being realized. This cost covers the economic loss from existing National Science Foundation (NSF) grants terminated by the Trump administration. It is based on an accounting of terminated NSF grants as of February 2026 and is calculated by multiplying the remaining unspent funds from those terminated grants by the economic multiplier.
Sources: Grant Witness, SCIMap
$1,774,054,931.46
Loss from terminated SAMHSA grants
As the Trump administration worked to slash federal spending, it canceled many already awarded federal grants, including funding for scientific research. Federal spending on scientific research has an economic impact beyond the grant itself, with each dollar in grant funding resulting in an estimated $2.56 in economic benefits. Canceling grants with funds still left to be spent prevents the economic benefits of those funds from being realized. This cost covers the economic loss from terminated grants at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as of February 2026 and is calculated by multiplying the remaining unspent funds from those terminated grants by the economic multiplier.
Sources: Grant Witness, SCIMap
$996,009,278.21
Loss from terminated EPA grants
As the Trump administration worked to slash federal spending, it canceled many already awarded federal grants, including grants funding scientific research. Federal spending on scientific research has an economic impact beyond the grant itself, with each dollar in grant funding resulting in an estimated $2.56 in economic benefits. Canceling grants with funds still left to be spent prevents the economic benefits of those funds from being realized. This cost covers the economic loss from terminated Environmental Protection Agency grants. It is based on an accounting of those terminated grants as of February 2026 and calculated by multiplying the remaining unspent funds by the economic multiplier of $2.56 for every $1 in federal funding.
Sources: Grant Witness, SCIMap
$72,841,874,885.12
Loss from terminated CDC grants
As the Trump administration worked to slash federal spending, it canceled many already awarded federal grants, including grants funding scientific research. Federal spending on scientific research has an economic impact beyond the grant itself, with each dollar in grant funding resulting in an estimated $2.56 in economic benefits. Canceling grants with funds still left to be spent prevents the economic benefits of those funds from being realized. This cost covers the economic loss from terminated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants. It is based on an accounting of terminated CDC grants as of February 2026 and is calculated by multiplying the remaining unspent funds from those terminated grants by the economic multiplier.
Sources: Grant Witness, SCIMap
$17,759,326,412.80
Behind the Numbers
What America Loses When It Cuts Scientific Research
Scott Delaney, co-founder of Grant Witness, discusses the short-, long- and medium-term impact of sweeping cuts to scientific research agencies, covering the cross-sector implications from American competitiveness to innovation and discovery and more.
METHODOLOGY
The costs presented above are estimates calculated using information available at the time of calculation. Only cost estimates for the Trump administration’s government management actions relating to the federal workforce and the administration of federal grants and contracts are included. Additionally, costs are only included for events that have occurred; any costs for proposed management actions that have not yet been implemented are not included.
Given the rapidly shifting nature of federal management actions under the Trump administration, cost estimates are likely to change as more information becomes available or actions are reversed or reinstated. For costs related to workforce management actions that placed federal employees on administrative leave, the precise number of employees on leave at any given time is difficult to determine—calculations are based on the best available information.
This tool focuses primarily on estimates of direct economic costs to the federal government. Broader economic costs are included where reliable information is available, particularly as it relates to the economic effects of the 2025 government shutdown and the cancellation of grants awarded by federal scientific agencies. Other projected, secondary or opportunity costs are not included. The estimates focus on immediate economic costs and do not include projections for cumulative costs over time.
Sources are cited directly alongside each cost item for full transparency. Where the cost estimate is not directly derived from one source, but is calculated using information from multiple sources, the specific calculation, including any assumptions, is available by clicking on the calculator icon for each cost estimate.
The “Cost Per Taxpayer” figure is calculated by dividing the total aggregate cost estimate by the 161 million U.S. taxpayers who filed returns in fiscal year 2024.