Kristi Noem announces $10k bonuses to TSA staff for 'exemplary service' during shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, November 13, announced that Transportation Security Administration agents who demonstrated “exemplary service” during the 43-day government shutdown will receive a $10,000 bonus payment in recognition of their dedication.

Speaking at a press conference in Houston, flanked by TSA employees, Noem praised workers who continued reporting for duty despite weeks without pay. 

Noem said that the bonus payment, on top of back pay, are "for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day."

TSA agents to receive $10,000 bonus for service during shutdown

“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,” she added.

Noem said that there were “tens of thousands of individuals who stepped up and continued to serve” during the shutdown, though she declined to specify whether eligibility was tied to attendance or other factors.

“We’re going to look at every individual who did exceptional service during this period of hardship,” she added.

The bonuses mark one of the first public gestures of appreciation toward federal employees following the historic shutdown.

Noem said that the gesture was both a thank-you and a morale booster for those who kept essential operations running during the crisis.

“Our country stayed safe because of them,” she said. "They deserve to be recognized for their service and sacrifice."

President Donald Trump earlier this week warned that air traffic controllers who called out of work would be “substantially docked,” while vowing to recommend $10,000 bonuses for those who continued showing up during the shutdown.

The announcement came after weeks of air travel disruptions stemming from staffing shortages among air traffic controllers and TSA screeners.

The Federal Aviation Administration had limited flights to reduce delays, while long security lines snarled airport operations nationwide.

White House urges agencies to fast-track back pay

Meanwhile, the White House has reportedly instructed federal agencies to expedite the distribution of back pay for hundreds of thousands of affected employees.

A senior administration official claimed that some workers, including those in the General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management, and the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs could receive their paychecks as soon as this weekend.

Others, including employees at the Departments of Education, State, Interior, and Transportation, as well as agencies such as NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Social Security Administration, are expected to receive payments by Monday.

Workers at Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Treasury, and the Department of Justice could see their back pay by the middle of next week, according to the White House projections.