Overview
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed $10,000 checks to more than 20 TSA officers at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
- Administration officials say several thousand TSA employees noted by supervisors for exemplary service will receive the payments, with specific eligibility criteria still unspecified.
- TSA staff are also receiving back pay as federal operations resume after President Trump signed short-term funding to reopen the government.
- An internal DHS memo obtained by MSNBC indicates the bonuses will be financed with fiscal year 2025 carryover money.
- Noem’s messaging that blamed Democrats for the shutdown has drawn Hatch Act concerns from some Democratic leaders, according to local reporting.