Mar 26, 2026
As travelers miss flights and lines at some U.S. airports exceed six hours (1), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are set to miss a second full paycheck (2) since the start of the partial government shutdown 41 days ago. Nearly 500 of these workers have resigned from their posts (3), citing intolerable working conditions and financial hardship.
Yet the White House might have just walked away from one possible solution to the budgeting stalemate that's left the Department of Homeland Security without funding and around 50,000 TSA officers (4) without pay — only for President Donald Trump to announce a plan of his own.
Reason for the partial government shutdown
The stalemate revolves around immigration enforcement. Democrats have refused to approve DHS funding since February — not long after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis — unless Republicans agree to operational changes at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those changes include requiring agents to obtain judicial warrants before entering private property, wear identification and remove masks during operations.
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Republicans have rejected those demands. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday that Democrats had received a "last and final offer."
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Musk's offer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk made an offer to bridge the funding divide with his own money late last week, posting on X (5), "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."
The billionaire would need to pay a reported $250 million (6) to cover the salaries. TSA officers start at around $34,500 annually, with experienced workers earning between $46,000 and $55,000 after locality adjustments (7). And with an estimated net worth of $839 billion according to the 2026 Forbes Billionaires List (8), Musk's ability to pay isn't the problem at face value.
Why the government passed on Musk's offer
The offer comes with legal questions that Trump was nevertheless considering, telling reporters (9) as recently as Monday, "I'd love it. I think it's great. Let him do that."
But White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told CBS News (10) that while "We greatly appreciate Elon's generous offer … this would pose great legal challenges due to his involvement with federal government contracts. The fastest way to ensure TSA employees — and all DHS employees — get paid is for Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security."
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When private and public funding mix
An outside individual is legally prohibited from paying government employees directly (11) under 18 U.S.C. § 209, according to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Private citizens can, however, make a donation through a Treasury Department account called "Gifts to the U.S. Government" (12) — though those gifts are unconditional, meaning the donor cannot earmark funds for a specific agency or purpose.
There is legal precedent (13) for private support during budgetary gaps. Last October, donor Timothy Mellon gave $130 million to help cover military salary shortfalls during a prior government shutdown.
Trump's plan
While legal issues may be one reason for rejecting Musk's offer, Trump announced his own solution on Thursday. In a Truth Social post (14), the president wrote, "I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports."
Trump did not specify what legal authority he intends to invoke. CBS News reported (15) it is unclear whether the president has the legal ability to pay staff absent congressional appropriations. The move is almost certain to face legal challenges.
White House officials believe the partial shutdown is likely to end soon (16), according to CBS News — but as of Thursday evening, no deal exists and lawmakers are preparing to leave for a two-week recess.
In the meantime, acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified before Congress (17) on Wednesday that by Friday, TSA employees will have lost nearly $1 billion in income combined from the current shutdown and the 43-day shutdown last fall. She warned of potential airport closures if more employees refuse to come to work.
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CBS News (1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 15, 16); Reuters (3, 4, 13); @elonmusk (5); Business Insider (7); Forbes (8); U.S. Office of Government Ethics (11); U.S. Treasury (12); @realDonaldTrump (14); Transportation Security Administration (17)
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Dragana Kovacevic is an associate editor for Moneywise.
