A Government Accountability Office (GAO) review found the U.S. Department of Education paid as much as $28 million–$38 million in salaries to Office for Civil Rights (OCR) staff while legal fights over planned layoffs stalled terminations. The GAO estimated the cost by extrapolating salary and benefits for the roughly 299 OCR employees affected by the March 2025 reduction in force. The report says OCR received more than 9,000 complaints between March and September 2025 but resolved only about 7,072—dismissing roughly 90% of cases during the period when many staff were on administrative leave. GAO concluded the department lacked documentation to show the RIF met its goal of increasing efficiency and could not confirm whether the moves saved taxpayer dollars. The findings raise questions about capacity to enforce civil‑rights protections at schools and colleges during a period of agency downsizing and litigation; GAO recommended better cost documentation and transparency around the workforce reductions.