Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., discusses the continuing partial authorities shutdown inflicting huge airport disruptions nationwide on ‘The Backside Line.’
Elon Musk provided to cowl the salaries of Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) personnel through the ongoing authorities funding standoff.
“I wish to provide to pay the salaries of TSA personnel throughout this funding deadlock that’s negatively affecting the lives of so many Individuals at airports all through the nation,” Musk stated in an X publish on Saturday morning.
Musk’s provide comes as a partial authorities shutdown passes one month, with lawmakers unable to succeed in a deal to fund the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS), which oversees the TSA.
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Elon Musk has provided to cowl the salaries of Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) personnel through the ongoing authorities funding standoff. Musk is pictured talking onstage in Cannes, France. (Richard Bord/WireImage / Getty Photographs)
The DHS shutdown has left TSA brokers working with out pay, triggering staffing shortages and lengthy airport traces nationwide, whereas elevating issues in regards to the means to stop assaults.
Republicans have pushed to fund DHS, whereas Democrats have sought standalone funding for companies like TSA that will exclude immigration operations.
TSA officers are thought of important staff and are required to report back to work even throughout a shutdown, although pay will be delayed.
Passengers wait in a check-in line at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport, because the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) continues to go unfunded, in Arlington, Virginia, March 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Kylie Cooper / Reuters Images)
Musk’s provide appeared geared toward easing the pressure as airport traces develop and staffing pressures construct.
Main U.S. airports have skilled extreme delays, with safety wait instances exceeding 3 hours in some circumstances, resulting from excessive TSA officer absenteeism. Hardest-hit airports embrace Houston (HOU, IAH), Atlanta (ATL), New Orleans (MSY), and Philadelphia (PHL).
Footage from PHL, shot early Thursday morning, confirmed a whole bunch of passengers ready on elevators and escalators to clear a safety checkpoint.
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TSA employees at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on March 13, 2025. (Annabelle GORDON / AFP by way of Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
It comes as a prime TSA union chief warned Thursday that airport safety dangers linked to the shutdown are set to “worsen,” provided that TSA has been below a hiring freeze since final 12 months.
It stays unclear how Musk’s proposed association would work or whether or not it might be legally potential for a non-public particular person to fund federal employees.
Fox Information’ Ashley J. DiMella and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
