White House turns down Musk’s $250M offer to pay TSA workers as hundreds of agents quit and airports buckle
The White House has turned down an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to personally cover the salaries of Transportation Security Administration workers amid a partial government shutdown that has snarled air travel across the country, multiple sources told CBS News.
Musk publicly floated the idea on X, writing that he wanted to pay TSA personnel during the “funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans.” President Trump initially welcomed the idea, telling reporters, “I’d love it. I think it’s great. Let him do that.”
But the White House ultimately declined, citing potential legal complications stemming from Musk’s extensive federal government contracts.
An outside individual is legally prohibited from paying government employees directly under U.S. Office of Government Ethics rules, though citizens can donate through a designated Treasury account called “Gifts to the U.S. Government.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson acknowledged Musk’s offer warmly but said the legal hurdles made it unworkable, pointing instead to Democrats as the party responsible for the impasse. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that message, saying it was Democrats who had created the six-week stalemate over DHS funding.
Meanwhile, TSA workers are approaching their second missed full paycheck since the shutdown began.
Nearly 500 officers have already quit, and ICE agents have been deployed to airports to fill the growing security gaps, raising concerns about the sustainability of air travel operations nationwide.
The cost to cover TSA salaries would run approximately $250 million, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.