Musk offers to pay TSA salaries as DHS shutdown stretches into fifth week

Elon Musk on Saturday offered to personally cover the paychecks of Transportation Security Administration officers as a partial government shutdown enters its fifth week, leaving tens of thousands of airport security workers without pay and travelers facing hours-long checkpoint lines.

“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” Mr. Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.

It remains unclear how that arrangement would work, or whether it would be legal, as federal law generally prohibits government employees from receiving outside compensation tied to their official duties. The Department of Homeland Security, the TSA and representatives for Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The DHS funding lapse began Feb. 14, when Congress failed to renew appropriations for the department, leaving more than 50,000 TSA officers without pay. With an annual workforce cost of roughly $8.6 billion, covering TSA salaries would cost Mr. Musk approximately $23.6 million per day.

About five hours after Mr. Musk’s post, President Trump responded on Truth Social, threatening to deploy ICE agents to airports if Democrats did not agree to a funding deal, saying they would do “Security like no one has ever seen before.”

The shutdown has not affected U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as Mr. Trump secured the agency $75 billion in funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, funding its operations through 2029.

Sen. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Democrat, responded positively to Mr. Musk’s offer on X, writing that TSA agents “across the country are relying on food pantries and community donations just to get by.” Mr. Fetterman has broken with his party over the shutdown, voting with Republicans to fully fund DHS. “It should never come to this point,” he wrote.

The shutdown has caused significant disruption at airports nationwide, with callout rates spiking above 50% in Houston and above 30% in New Orleans and Atlanta earlier this week, according to DHS. A growing number of TSA officers have left the force or called out sick, with officials citing financial hardship as the primary driver.

Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl warned Thursday that conditions could worsen, cautioning that some smaller airports with fewer screening lanes and staff could be forced to temporarily suspend operations if absences continue. “This is going to get worse before it gets better, particularly if we don’t have a resolution within the coming days and weeks,” Mr. Stahl said.

The budget standoff stems from a deep congressional divide. Democrats have withheld support for broader DHS funding while seeking policy changes to immigration enforcement, a push that intensified following the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota during a federal operation earlier this year. Among the changes Democrats have sought are requirements that immigration agents obtain judicial warrants before entering homes and wear visible identification. Republicans have resisted efforts to fund TSA and other DHS agencies separately from the rest of the department.

A Senate vote on legislation to fund DHS failed to advance Friday, leaving the standoff unresolved. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said bipartisan negotiators have narrowed remaining disputes, but no deal has been finalized.