As the world celebrated the return of Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore on earth, NASA declared that there would be no ‘overtime pay’ for their 9 month extended stay. US President Donald Trump said that he would pay them out of his own pocket after learning that they were getting a compensation of $5 per extra day they stayed.
During a media interaction at the Oval Office, Fox News journalist Peter Doocy highlighted the issue. He noted that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore received only $1,430 in overtime pay for their 286-day ordeal. To which Trump responded, “Well, nobody’s ever mentioned this to me, If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket…That’s not a lot for what they had to go through.”
VIDEO | Washington: Here’s what US President Donald Trump said at a press conference when asked about the two astronauts he helped bring back from space not receiving overtime pay:
“Well, nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket. I’ll… pic.twitter.com/hSgoHH8KMv
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 21, 2025
Furthermore, he expressed his gratitude and thanked DOGE Chief and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk for facilitating the return of NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore. Highlighting Musk’s role he said, “imagine if we didn’t have him…they could be stuck there for a long time. Who else is going to get them?” This remark highlighted Musk’s contributions to space exploration and astronaut rescue efforts and the strategic position he holds in the Trump administration.
As per the NASA Space Operations Missions Directorate spokesperson Jimi Russell, the Ney York Times reported that the astronauts on official travel orders are federal employees and receive no overtime, holiday or weekend pay. However, they do receive an “incidental” allowance which can be reimbursed -every other federal work trip.
(with ANI inputs)