The White House has rejected Elon Musk's offer to pay the salaries of TSA workers during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, according to a new report.
CBS News noted that even though the offer was taken seriously, with President Donald Trump even saying "let him do that," there would be legal challenges to it given the fact that he has several government contracts.
Musk could have potentially given money to the government's general fund, which would then be used to pay TSA workers because individuals are legally barred from paying government officers directly.
However, they can make a donation to an account called "Gifts to the U.S: Government," which could then be used for budgetary needs. The outlet went on to detail that the estimated cost would be $250 million.
Another factor influencing the rejection is that officials also believe the shutdown could be over soon. However, different reports detail a mounting toll resulting from the shutdown as missed paychecks, rising absences and the arrival of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at airports deepen strain on an already depleted workforce.
"It definitely impacts morale when we are expected to show up to work every day and fulfill the duties and the missions that we love and support, keeping the public safe, and we're not being paid," Antoinette Wade, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1047 and a TSA officer in Jackson, Mississippi, told The Guardian.
The shutdown, now in its sixth week, has led to more than 400 TSA workers quitting since February, as the outlet detailed. On one recent Sunday, more than 3,450 TSA officers called out of work, with some airports reporting call-out rates as high as 40%, according to Department of Homeland Security data. The staffing shortages have contributed to long wait times at major airports.
To address the disruption, the Trump administration sent ICE officers to 14 airports this week. But labor officials and some administration sources have questioned how much relief the move can offer. Everett Kelley, president of the AFGE, told The Guardian that ICE agents "are not trained or certified in aviation security," adding that placing them at checkpoints "does not fill a gap. It creates one."
According to CBS News, the order also caught ICE officials off guard, with one DHS source telling the outlet, "I have no idea what we're doing." Border czar Tom Homan said ICE agents would not handle specialized screening tasks such as X-ray machines, but could instead assist with crowd control or monitoring entry and exit points.
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