DHS To Award $10,000 Bonuses To TSA Officers After Lengthy Government Shutdown

The Department of Homeland Security plans to issue $10,000 bonuses to Transportation Security Administration officers who continued working through the recent federal shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced

during a Nov. 13 press conference in Houston.

Noem said the bonuses are intended to recognize “tens of thousands of individuals who stepped up and continued to serve,” even though TSA staff received no pay during the 43-day shutdown.

When asked whether the incentive would go only to officers who reported to work consistently, she clarified that “that’s not necessarily the parameters,” adding that the department will evaluate “every individual that did exceptional service during this period of time when there were so many hardships.”

DHS has not yet defined which employees will qualify, and the department did not respond to follow-up questions. With roughly 50,000 officers in TSA’s workforce, covering every employee would amount to about $500 million in payouts.

In a message posted on X, Noem praised the agency’s frontline staff: “Americans can be proud of TSA workers across the country who continued to serve with excellence throughout the shutdown — many going to great lengths to protect our country, care for their fellow Americans, and keep our nation moving.” She added, “President Trump and I are giving a $10,000 bonus to exemplary TSA officers across our nation who went above and beyond their performance. Thank you to the men and women of @TSA — patriots!”

According to DHS, the department plans to cover the costs using leftover funds from the 2025 fiscal year.

Travel disruptions escalated in the final stretch of the shutdown as more TSA officers called out, contributing to longer checkpoint lines. Air travelers also faced a spike in delays and cancellations as Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers began missing work after going without paychecks.

Noem’s announcement followed a Truth Social post by former President Donald Trump

criticizing air traffic controllers who called out during the shutdown. He similarly endorsed a $10,000 payout for controllers who, as he put it, “didn’t take any time off for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax.’”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy supported the bonus plan but acknowledged that some employees missed shifts for legitimate financial reasons. “They’re young. They don’t make a lot of money when they first start out… They may be the sole source of income, and they were confronted with a real problem,” he said.

Still, Duffy emphasized that the FAA will scrutinize “continual bad actors” who may have used the shutdown as an excuse to skip work.

According to an Office of Management and Budget memo obtained by Semafor, TSA and other affected federal workers are expected to resume receiving paychecks by Nov. 19.

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