Elon Musk publicly offered on March 21, 2026, to pay Transportation Security Administration employees during a Department of Homeland Security funding impasse. The White House did not accept that offer: CBS News reported its rejection on March 26. The next day, the White House directed DHS and the Office of Management and Budget to use qualifying government funds to compensate TSA employees. The cited reports do not show that Musk paid workers, and they do not establish current airport wait times.
What Musk offered—and what the White House did
Musk posted on X on March 21: “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.” Axios reported the post and noted that how the offer might work was unclear. The report also described a separate proposal involving ICE personnel, whose implementation was likewise unclear. Axios
CBS News reported on March 26, citing sources, that the White House rejected Musk’s offer. That is a report about the administration’s response, not a public White House announcement in the cited material. The available reporting does not establish that Musk paid TSA employees. CBS News
The government’s separate action
On March 27, the White House issued a memorandum directing the DHS secretary, in coordination with the OMB director, to use funds with a “reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations” to provide employees the compensation and benefits they would have received absent the shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a). The directive was a government funding measure, not acceptance of Musk’s private offer. White House memorandum
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The memorandum said more than 60,000 TSA employees, including approximately 50,000 transportation security officers, were unpaid during the shutdown. It also said waits at some airports had reached three or more hours. Those are figures and conditions described by the White House in that March 27 document—not a national average or a current October 2026 estimate. White House memorandum
Why wait times were worsening
The March reports linked airport delays to the funding impasse and staffing strain. On March 20, the Associated Press reported that DHS said at least 376 TSA officers had quit since the shutdown began. That figure is DHS’s, as reported by AP, and applies to that point in the shutdown. Associated Press
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Axios reported that TSA screened more than 2.5 million passengers a day. That describes screening volume, not the number of delayed travelers or the length of a typical line. Axios
What was reported about pay and lines afterward
On March 30, the White House said TSA employees were beginning to receive pay under the administration’s action. It also said waits at some checkpoints in Atlanta and Houston had improved that Monday morning. These were the White House’s claims about pay and specific locations on that date; they do not establish conditions at every airport or later in the year. White House statement
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What travelers should take from the reports
The March episode involved two distinct developments: a private offer that CBS News reported was rejected, followed by a separate government direction to fund TSA compensation from qualifying funds. The reported waits and staffing figures are snapshots from March 2026. The cited material provides no independent October 2026 wait-time statistic, so it cannot answer whether lines are currently worsening or how long a traveler should expect to wait.
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