TSA Agents Set To Receive $10,000 Bonuses For “Exemplary Service” During Shutdown
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday that Transportation Security Administration agents who delivered “exemplary service” throughout the six-week government shutdown will receive $10,000 bonus checks, offering an additional financial cushion on top of the back pay they are owed.
Speaking at a press conference in Houston alongside TSA agents, Noem said the payments are meant to recognize the employees who absorbed extra shifts and kept airport security functioning during weeks of uncertainty.
“These checks are for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day,” Noem said. She added that similar recognition would reach TSA personnel nationwide.
“We will be continuing to not only recognize employees across the country, but we will be looking at every single TSA official who helped serve during this government shutdown, and do what we can to recognize that and help them financially with a bonus check to get them and their family back on their feet.”
Noem estimated that “tens of thousands” of TSA workers continued serving during the shutdown. When pressed on whether the bonuses only applied to employees who did not call in sick, she pushed back, saying that was not the criteria. “We’re going to look at every individual that did exceptional service during this period of time when there were so many hardships,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security said the bonus program will be funded using carryover dollars from fiscal year 2025, avoiding the need for new appropriations.
Air travel has been strained in recent weeks as the Federal Aviation Administration limited flights due to severe air traffic controller shortages, compounding long security lines and airport delays nationwide.
President Trump signaled his support for similar incentives earlier this week, saying any controllers who failed to report to work would be “substantially docked,” while recommending $10,000 bonuses for those who continued working without pay.
