Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Thursday that TSA agents who worked throughout the 43-day government shutdown will receive $10,000 bonus paychecks for their “exemplary service” in keeping air travel safe for the nation.
Noem thanked the hard-working Transportation Security Administration agents for “stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day” as the shutdown derailed thousands of flights due to a lack of federal funding.
“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 said at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
It remains unclear how many TSA employees will receive the bonuses, but Noem handed out the first bonus paychecks to multiple TSA agents present at the Houston press conference.
Thursday’s announcement comes three days after President Donald Trump suggested $10,000 bonuses be given to air traffic controllers who worked during the prolonged funding lapse. Those who left were threatened with a “negative mark” on their records, “at least in my mind,” Trump said.
The shutdown ended late Wednesday after the short-term, Senate-passed continuing resolution cleared the House and was signed by the president. During the signing ceremony, Trump blamed Democrats for refusing to reopen the government for over a month.
While the shutdown is over, its disruptive effects on air travel will linger. On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said flight cuts at 40 major domestic airports will remain at 6% rather than rise to 10% as more air traffic controllers return to work.
Air travel may take days or even weeks before operations return to normal, according to aviation experts. The day after the shutdown ended, roughly 1,300 flights were canceled and about 15,000 were delayed, per live data from flight tracker FlightAware as of Thursday afternoon.
In the meantime, federal agencies will be working to distribute back pay to their previously furloughed workers in the coming days. NBC News reported some checks could be issued as early as this weekend.
