Did trump promise 10,000 bonuses to national guard
Executive summary
Available reporting shows President Donald Trump proposed $10,000 bonus payments for some air-traffic and other front-line federal workers who stayed on the job during the 43-day government shutdown, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced $10,000 bonuses for select TSA officers paid from FY2025 carryover funds [1] [2] [3] [4]. Coverage also makes clear the bonuses did not apply broadly to all National Guard members and that the FAA and DOT limited $10,000 awards to a small subset of controllers and technicians with perfect attendance [5] [6].
1. What Trump publicly proposed: a $10,000 payment to some federal workers
Reporting documents that Trump publicly suggested $10,000 bonuses for air‑traffic controllers who continued working during the shutdown, urging controllers “to get back to work” while proposing such payments for those who stayed on the job [1] [5]. Multiple outlets link his social‑media post and remarks to the administration’s subsequent actions to reward certain employees [5] [4].
2. What DHS actually announced: $10,000 for select TSA officers, not National Guard
The Department of Homeland Security, via Secretary Kristi Noem, announced one‑time $10,000 payments to “select TSA officers” who served during the shutdown and said the bonuses would be paid using FY2025 carryover funds [2] [3] [4]. News accounts and DHS statements describe this as a targeted recognition of “exemplary service,” not a universal payout across federal or military personnel [3] [4].
3. FAA and DOT actions: limited $10,000 awards to controllers/technicians with perfect attendance
The FAA and Department of Transportation did distribute $10,000 payments, but reporting emphasizes narrow eligibility. PBS and Fox News cite DOT/FAA statements that only a small fraction of the controllers and technicians—those with perfect attendance during the 43‑day shutdown—would receive the award; one report notes 776 air traffic controllers and technicians were slated for $10,000 awards, and another says only 311 of over 10,000 union members would qualify [6] [5].
4. National Guard: no sourced claim that Trump promised $10,000 bonuses to Guard members
Available sources do not report Trump promising $10,000 bonuses specifically for National Guard members. The documents supplied focus on TSA personnel and air‑traffic controllers/technicians, and on broader debates over Guard deployments and benefits, but do not tie a $10,000 bonus promise to Guard troops in these items [2] [1] [5] [7]. Therefore, reporting provided here does not substantiate a claim that Trump promised $10,000 bonuses to National Guard members.
5. Why confusion spread: overlapping announcements and political framing
Multiple, simultaneous developments—Trump’s public suggestion about controllers, DHS’s Noem announcing TSA bonuses, DOT/FAA selections for controllers/technicians, and contentious National Guard deployments—created fertile ground for conflation across worker categories [1] [2] [6] [7]. Partisan outlets amplified selective messaging [8], and some reporting highlights the political framing—Noem’s and the White House statements cast the payments as rewarding “patriotic” service and blaming Democrats for the shutdown [4] [2].
6. How many got paid and who decided eligibility
Numbers reported vary by agency: DOT/FAA communications cited a specific tranche of controllers and technicians (776 in one DOT report) while union statements and PBS reporting emphasize that only a small share of the workforce met strict “perfect attendance” criteria—311 recipients among over 10,000 union members in one account [6] [5]. DHS described the TSA awards as selective but did not in the excerpts provide a precise nationwide headcount, and outlets noted unclear criteria for selection [9] [4].
7. Competing perspectives in the coverage
Coverage presents two consistent viewpoints: administration officials framed bonuses as deserved recognition funded by carryover savings and tied to patriotism [2] [4], while critics and union leaders argue the awards were too narrowly targeted and that all workers who endured unpaid service during the shutdown deserve pay and back pay [5]. Reporting notes debate over fairness and the precedent of rewarding only those with “perfect attendance” [5] [4].
8. Bottom line for your question
If your question asks whether Trump promised $10,000 bonuses to National Guard members specifically: available sources do not mention such a promise; the documented $10,000 proposals and awards in these pieces concerned TSA officers and a limited group of FAA controllers/technicians, not National Guard troops [2] [1] [5] [6].