The White House has rejected Elon Musk’s $250 million offer to cover TSA workers’ salaries amid the partial government shutdown after giving it serious consideration.
The shutdown, now in its sixth week, has left Department of Homeland Security (DHS) workers without pay after Democrats blocked a GOP bill to fund the department.
‘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, the world’s richest man, posted on X Monday.
But the offer was rejected by the White House on Wednesday despite Trump earlier stating he ‘loved’ the proposal.
‘We greatly appreciate Elon’s generous offer,’ White House Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail in a statement. ‘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.’
Democrats opposed the bill in a bid to extract reforms to Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, with DHS also overseeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection.
This has prompted hundreds of TSA workers to quit, longer-than-usual security wait times and ICE agents to step in to duties regularly performed by TSA after President Donald Trump ordered them to help alleviate the pressure on travelers.
The White House rejected Elon Musk’s offer to pay TSA workers’ salaries during the ongoing partial government shutdown
‘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, the world’s richest man, posted on X Monday
Nearly 500 TSA employees have quit since the shutdown began. Lines at US airports have taken some travelers as long as three hours to get through
Officials seriously considered Musk’s offer but were also concerned it could represent a conflict of interest.
If Musk did pay the TSA workers’ salaries, there could be legal challenges due to the Tesla and SpaceX executive’s many government contracts.
The White House has also expressed optimism the shutdown will end soon, with airport chaos nationwide prompting Congress to recalibrate negotiations.
The shutdown began on February 14, and TSA workers are expected to miss out on their second full paycheck if an agreement is not passed and signed off by the President this week.
Trump had initially backed the idea.
‘I’d love it. I think it’s great. Let him do that,’ the President said this week.
Covering TSA workers’ pay would amount to around $250 million, two sources told CBS News.
The White House has repeatedly blamed Democrats for playing politics with government workers’ paychecks. The liberal lawmakers have claimed the same about the White House and congressional Republicans.
Trump initially welcomed Musk’s offer, saying he’d ‘love it’ if the world’s richest man paid the estimated $250 million owed to the TSA workers
But American voters are narrowly blaming Trump and the GOP for the shutdown, according to the latest Daily Mail/ JL Partners survey released this week.
More than a third of respondents cast blame on the Republicans for the long lines and security wait times at US airports.
‘It’s the Democrats who have led to this stalemate over the past six weeks,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
‘The president and the Republicans’ position has been very clear — fund the Department of Homeland Security.’
The TSA administrator said Wednesday that employees have lost an estimated $1 billion in income when combined with the 43-day shutdown in the fall of 2025.
