The federal civilian workforce is growing modestly, but its pay has grown nearly fivefold since 2020, with an 80% increase in government workers who pocket salaries over $200,000 and $300,000, according to a new report.
Open the Books, a nonpartisan organization, analyzed all publicly disclosed federal salaries in fiscal 2024 and found 2.9 million civil service employees with a total payroll of $270 billion.
In its quadrennial report, Mapping the Swamp, federal employees grew 5% from fiscal 2020 and their pay bulged 24%.
Those making over $200,000 and $300,000 grew over 80%.
From fiscal 2020 to four years later, there was a 49% increase in federal employees making $100,000 a year. Those earning $200,000 or more annually jumped 82% from the 2020 fiscal year, while 84% more employees saw a $300,000-plus salary.
More than 31,000 employees outearned the president — who makes $400,000 annually — in the four years.
Excluding the Defense Department, 31,452 federal employees out-earned every governor in fiscal 2024. That includes the highest governor’s salary: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at $250,000 a year.
Open the Books also reported a shrinkage in the White House payroll and a record number of payroll redactions.
It found that the White House payroll shrank 29% from then-President Biden to President Trump.
The former president’s 2024 White House payroll had the distinction of being the most expensive in history. It also had the largest headcount since former President Richard Nixon.
Open the Books’ reports go back to Mr. Trump’s first campaign to “drain the swamp.” His second term kicked off newer and more aggressive methods to enact this plan, including creating the Department of Government Efficiency.
Because the Office of the Vice President claims to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, Open the Books couldn’t obtain those salaries through open records requests.
In the fiscal 2024 payroll, the names of 383,000 people working in 56 agencies were redacted, representing $38.3 billion in pay. This number grew from 259,000 names in fiscal 2020.
“Who are these employees and — as importantly — where in the world are they working?” the report asked.
In 2016, only 2,300 names were redacted from the payroll produced by the Office of Personnel Management, the watchdog said.
On top of that, the Pentagon redacted the names of its entire civilian workforce — 761,624 names with a total payroll of $62.8 billion.
“In order to drain the swamp effectively, taxpayers must be able to see through the silt and measure the depth,” the report said.
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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