Forbes, Reuters, USA Today, and other outlets confirm that Elon Musk offered to pay TSA salaries. Some employees can’t pay for their housing, car loans, gas, and food. Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
Elon Musk said in a social media post that he wants to pay the salaries of Transportation Security Administration employees who are working without paychecks during the partial government shutdown, and as spring break travel ramps up.
About 50,000 TSA officers aren’t being paid as the shutdown stretches on for over a month, affecting funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Security lines at airports across the country have become chaotic, stretching outside terminals at some.
Some TSA workers have not shown up to work, and officials have warned that smaller airports could close if the situation drags on much longer.
“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,” Musk said in a post on X the morning of March 21.
It is unclear whether there is a legal pathway for a donor to pay government salaries.
It’s probably not legal, but he is a great American.
#NEWS:https://t.co/7m1JlSmq1c
BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK, FOUNDER OF THE EVERYTHING APP, OFFERS TO PAY THE SALARIES OF TSA WORKERS NEGLECTED BY THE DEMOCRAT LEAD GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. pic.twitter.com/k25jicwORA— Politics On (@PoliticsOnX) March 21, 2026
