Governments certainly do take more money (or money-like instruments) out of circulation than they're putting in under some circumstances, for equal and opposite reasons to quantitative easing. It's rare, because normally the economy is growing (at what you assume is a sustainable rate) and so you want the currency base to grow as well. But I believe the US took at least a little out of circulation in an effort to damp the "irrational exuberance" of 2001.