Politics Added 1h ago · originally reported 3h ago Why the delay? Events only appear once a second similar article confirms the story. Additionally, many feeds (especially Google News-proxied sources like CNN, NYT, WSJ, WaPo) can take 10-20+ hours to index new articles. The pipeline also runs every 30 minutes, so there's always some inherent lag. 3 outlets
GAO report finds Trump administration spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers under DOGE plan
The Government Accountability Office estimated that the Trump administration spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal employees in 2025, a 435% increase over 2023, driven largely by the deferred resignation program tied to the Department of Government Efficiency. About $6.7 billion of that went to the deferred resignation program, which placed more than 144,000 employees on paid leave. OPM disputed the framing, citing $40 billion in projected annual savings from reducing the workforce by 270,000 employees.
17
Divergence score
3 outlets covered it, splitting into 3 framing camps across 2 bias groups.
3 camps
2 bias groups
The spectrum · how 3 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
CNN
The Hill
NBC News
Horizontal = outlet biasColor = this story's framing
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
CNN
Trump administration paid federal employees $9.5 billion not to work in 2025 under DOGE plan - CNN
waste and Democratic criticism · negative
The Hill
Federal employees were paid nearly $7B not to work under DOGE effort: GAO
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
CNN leads with the $9.5 billion total cost and Democratic criticism, while The Hill headlines only the nearly $7 billion deferred resignation portion. NBC emphasizes the DOGE-era cuts driving the spending.
How each outlet covered it
Lightly covered so far
Too few outlets to map a left-right split. Here is each take as it stands.
Sparse coverage · 3 outlets
HThe HillCENTER2h ago
“Federal employees were paid nearly $7B not to work under DOGE effort: GAO”
CNNCNNLEFT3h ago
“Trump administration paid federal employees $9.5 billion not to work in 2025 under DOGE plan - CNN”
NBCNBC NewsLEFT-CENTER2h ago
“Trump administration spent $9.5B last year on employee leave, driven by DOGE-era cuts”
6 tracked claims across 3 outlets
Fact ledger
All6Claimed3Corroborated3
1/3
Claimed
More than 144,000 employees were placed on paid leave through the deferred resignation program
