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Some Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents were overheard candidly opening up on how they feel about their work on a hot mic.
The comments were made as a group of agents waited for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a press conference on Monday.
Noem was attending the event at Tampa International Airport in Florida to hand out $10,000 bonus checks to about 25 TSA employees who worked without pay during the shutdown.
- TSA agents were overheard on a hot mic expressing fear of a supervisor and frustration with their work schedules before Kristi Noem's press conference.
- Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks to 25 TSA agents who worked without pay during the 43-day government shutdown.
- Noem praised TSA employees for exemplary service during the shutdown, emphasizing their dedication and leadership support.
The comments were made before Kristi Noem took the stage
Image credits: Alex Brandon – Pool/Getty Images
RawStory reporter Alexander Willis shared footage of those agents gathered on a stage before Noem’s arrival, seemingly unaware that the microphone was switched on.
“I used to be terrified of [her] when I started in HR, I was so scared of her,” one employee, who did not name his supervisor, said to another.
“She was just really busy; she did, like, discipline stuff in HR, so being an officer, she didn’t trust me to be around any of it because she didn’t know if I had a big mouth or not.”
A short while later, the conversation moved to work schedules.
Hot mic catches TSA agent saying he was “terrified” of a superior and complain about “frustrating” work schedules. pic.twitter.com/QgsKF8r1kZ
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) December 8, 2025
“Now you can no longer go to the store,” one could be heard saying.
“I wish I had Sunday-Monday or Friday-Saturday [off], because having both weekend days off is great, but it’s frustrating sometimes.”
Noem said those being given checks had been nominated by supervisors and leadership for showing exemplary service during the federal government shutdown.
They continued to show up to work during the longest shutdown in history, which ended on November 12 after 43 days.
Seven Democrats and one independent voted with the GOP to push through a stopgap measure that did not extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies—the issue that Democrats had refused to budge on.
Image credits: Andrew Wevers/Getty Images
“It’s for individuals who continued to show up, fulfilled their shifts and continued to do other things to help through the shutdown to help the entire team be successful,” Noem said at the press conference, according to Fox13.
“I am so proud of them, and I am so proud of everyone in leadership who inspired them to do their jobs and do them well,” she added.
The envelopes handed to employees did not contain checks for $10,000 but included a note saying the bonus would be paid directly to their accounts with their next wage.
Noem’s appearance at the presser came amid rumors that she could soon be replaced as chief of the agency.
Three anonymous officials told The Bulwark on Saturday that President Donald Trump is considering axing Noem, something the White House branded “fake news.”
Checks were given to TSA workers who showed up during the government shutdown
Image credits: Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Responding to those rumors in an interview with Nexstar, Noem said, “No, I don’t have any indication of that.
“The president is fantastic. I am very proud every single day to be able to work for him.”
She added, “I will serve at the president’s pleasure, which I’m very grateful to get to do, and he gives me a wonderful opportunity to do a job that matters for the safety of the American people.”
Noem, no stranger to hitting the headlines, most recently made waves after appearing to suggest that Trump could control the weather.
At a live-streamed Cabinet meeting last week, Noem told Trump, “Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. Even you kept the hurricanes away.”
She added, “We appreciate that.”
Noem was referencing the fact that the U.S. had just marked the end of the Atlantic hurricane season, and it was the first time since 2015 that a hurricane did not make landfall in the U.S.
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