WASHINGTON, D.C. November 22, 2025 – Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on Sunday that the Department will award $10,000 bonuses to outstanding Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers nationwide who demonstrated exceptional performance while working without pay during a recent government shutdown under the previous Democratic administration.
In a video posted to X from a TSA checkpoint, Noem stood at a Department of Homeland Security podium surrounded by uniformed TSA officers and thanked them for their dedication. “Under the leadership of @POTUS Trump, we are giving a $10,000 bonus to exemplary TSA officers across our nation who went above and beyond their performance during the Democrats’ shutdown,” Noem said. “They kept this country moving, secure, and they never blinked in their mission. President Trump and I are so proud of these patriots!”
The bonuses recognize TSA personnel who continued screening passengers and securing airports despite the lapse in federal funding that left many federal workers unpaid for weeks. The shutdown, which occurred earlier in 2025, affected hundreds of thousands of government employees and was widely attributed to congressional gridlock over spending bills.
The announcement is one of the first personnel-related initiatives from the incoming Trump administration’s DHS leadership, emphasizing recognition for frontline workers in national security roles. Details on the exact number of recipients and the total cost of the program were not immediately disclosed, though administration officials described the bonuses as performance-based and funded through existing departmental resources.
The move drew praise from Trump supporters who viewed it as fulfillment of promises to reward loyalty and hard work among federal employees. Critics, including some fiscal conservatives, questioned the timing and sourcing of the funds amid broader calls for government spending cuts.
As millions of Americans travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, the gesture underscores the administration’s focus on bolstering morale within DHS agencies responsible for border security, immigration enforcement, and transportation safety.
