Elon Musk proposes to cover TSA salaries during the budget conflict and long airport wait times
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, announced on Saturday that he would cover the paychecks of U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers during their second unpaid work stoppage in six months amid an ongoing federal funding lapse.
The budget stalemate regarding funding for the TSA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, has now reached its fifth week. Screeners and other TSA personnel are on the verge of missing a second full paycheck, yet they are being urged to report for duty as wait times at certain airports extend for hours.
“I would like to propose covering the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is adversely impacting the lives of many Americans at airports across the nation,” Musk stated in a post on his social media platform X.
DHS, TSA, and representatives for Musk have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Airlines and travel groups indicate that the number of absences among the TSA’s approximately 50,000 airport security officers may rise once more this weekend.
According to federal data, TSA staffers have an average annual salary of $61,000. Airports are organizing food drives and welcoming donations for security screeners during the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown.
The timelines for DHS funding continue to be unclear. On Friday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced that bipartisan negotiators have made progress in resolving the outstanding issues regarding DHS funding, although a final agreement has yet to be reached. In February, Democrats in Congress reached an agreement to fund the majority of the government while opting to withhold funds from the Department of Homeland Security after the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota at the hands of immigration authorities.
In the previous year, President Donald Trump stated that a wealthy donor contributed $130 million to assist in addressing potential military pay shortfalls resulting from the government shutdown, which endured for 43 days and marked the longest in U.S. history.
