Ahead of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference on Monday, the hot mic got surprisingly candid about how Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents actually feel about their jobs.
Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks to more than a dozen TSA agents for working without pay during the government shutdown, after audio captured an agent complaining about being “afraid” of his superiors before an event at Tampa International Airport in Florida.
“I used to be scared [her] When I started working in human resources, I was so scared of her,” a TSA agent can be heard saying in a video shared to X by reporter Alexander Willis. “She’s really busy; she’s really busy. She did discipline HR so as an officer she didn’t trust me to be involved because she didn’t know if I had a big mouth. “
The deputy did not identify the co-worker.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. /Kent West Village/Getty Images
The agent and another agent also complained about how busy their work schedules were.
“Now you can’t go to the store anymore,” they can be heard saying. “I wish I had Sunday to Monday or Friday to Saturday [off]because while weekend breaks are great, they can also be frustrating at times. “
TSA, which is part of Noem’s Department of Homeland Security, was hit hard by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history in October after Democrats refused to sign a spending bill that did not guarantee an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
TSA agents classified as essential employees received only partial pay in early October and worked without pay for weeks until the shutdown ended on Nov. 12 when six Democrats broke party lines to pass a temporary spending bill.
Like an earlier event in November at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, the “bonus checks” Noem handed out to TSA employees at Tampa International Airport were not actual checks and were not issued to all employees.
Noem clarified that the envelope given to agents contained a piece of paper that said the money would be added to their next paycheck via direct deposit. Only employees nominated by their superiors for “exemplary service” will receive the $10,000 bonus.
TSA has approximately 65,000 employees, including more than 50,000 Transportation Security Officers.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
