This is awesome. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem personally handed out $10K bonus checks to TSA agents who stayed the course and didn’t call out sick during the government shutdown. Watch: Backup here if needed: BREAKING: Kristi Noem is issuing $10,000 BONUS CHECKS to TSA agents who didn’t call out sick during the shutdown MUCH deserved. I spoke with agents in Portland who were true patriots and were DETERMINED to keep doing their jobs — even not knowing they’d get back pay. pic.twitter.com/CuYUNkIQKn — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 13, 2025   That’s how it’s done! Take care of those who remained dedicated and worked hard through the shutdown. TSA agents held the line during shutdown chaos, zero paychecks guaranteed. Noem says $10K bonus—damn right, recognition for real. — PhilGervais (@gervap) November 13, 2025 That’s also a very nice chunk of change ahead of the Christmas season. I’m sure these workers appreciate being rewarded for doing the right thing. President Trump has also promised that air traffic controllers who kept doing their very important work during the shutdown will receive bonuses. The New York Times has more: Air traffic controllers with perfect attendance through the shutdown are not the only government employees getting bonuses for working unpaid during the longest federal spending freeze in U.S. history. The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, announced on Thursday that an unspecified number of Transportation Security Administration officers would also be awarded checks of $10,000 for going “above and beyond” during the shutdown, acting days after President Trump recommended $10,000 bonuses for air traffic controllers who never missed a shift during the shutdown, while seeming to prod those who were absent to quit. Ms. Noem handed out the first batch of bonus checks during a news conference at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where travelers experienced long security lines last week amid shutdown-related staffing shortages. Ms. Noem did not define the exact criteria that merited the checks but said the eligible employees could include those who took on extra shifts during the shutdown. The government required both T.S.A. workers and air traffic controllers to labor through the shutdown without pay, and as they began missing paydays, absences started rising. Trump administration and union officials attributed many of the absences to the need controllers and officers had to find outside sources of income to make ends meet through the six-week shutdown. Per the terms outlined so far, it does not appear that employees who were so cash-strapped during the shutdown that they missed shifts to pursue side gigs would be eligible for the bonuses. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had endorsed Mr. Trump’s idea, calling it “brilliant,” and suggested that controllers who met the bar might receive their checks directly from the president at the White House. But he stopped short of echoing Mr. Trump’s exhortation that those who had absences should quit, saying he questioned the dedication only of controllers who missed work before actually missing a paycheck. What do you think?