Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem plans to announce $10,000 bonuses for Transportation Security Administration agents who continued to work during the government shutdown, according to three administration officials granted anonymity to share details of the announcement. Another administration official specified that the bonuses will be awarded to “several thousand” agents who were given high performance marks by their supervisors.
President Donald Trump recommended a similar bonus payout for air traffic controllers who essentially had perfect attendance, never “calling out sick” during the shutdown. The specific stipulations — whether 100% attendance during the shutdown is required for TSA agents to receive the bonus or not — is unclear.
Noem’s announcement, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, will take place at a Houston airport and comes on the tail end of a 43-day government shutdown.
The bonus money provided to agents will come from carry over funds from fiscal year 2025, according to an internal memo at the Department of Homeland Security, obtained by MSNBC.
Asked for comment, the White House directed MSNBC to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not provide an official response.
