Trump Offers Overtime Pay To Stranded Astronauts: ‘Out Of My Own Pocket’

President Donald Trump has pledged to personally compensate two U.S. astronauts who were left stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly nine months after the Biden administration failed to bring them home in a timely manner. Speaking in response to a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy, Trump said he would cover the astronauts’ lost pay “out of my own pocket.”

“Well, nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay that in my own pocket, okay? I’ll get it for you. I like that idea. I’ll pay it right out of my— is that all? That’s not a lot, for what they had to go through,” Trump stated.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore, 62, and Suni Williams, 59, finally returned to Earth on Tuesday evening after being stuck in orbit for 286 days. Their mission was originally scheduled to last just eight days, but they were left in limbo due to repeated delays with their Boeing Starliner return craft.

The administration’s sluggish response left the astronauts effectively marooned. Reports surfaced that Biden officials hesitated to approve a rescue mission for fear of potential political fallout if something went wrong.

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The two NASA astronauts splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule just before 6 p.m. Eastern Time, marking the end of a grueling nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their return followed an agonizing wait as they conducted over 150 scientific experiments while NASA worked on a plan to bring them home.

Despite their extended mission, astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams received no overtime pay. Instead, they were given a daily per diem of just $5—amounting to a mere $1,430 for their 286-day ordeal in space.

Wilmore and Williams were joined by astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on the journey back to Earth, finally returning on March 18. Their mission had been scheduled to be significantly shorter, but a propulsion issue with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft left them stranded in orbit far longer than planned.

Forced to remain aboard the ISS, the crew continued conducting critical research, including studies on the effects of microgravity on human physiology and technology demonstrations for future deep-space missions.

Their long-awaited rescue operation began at 1 a.m. Tuesday and lasted 17 hours before the Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. The high-speed reentry saw the capsule blazing through Earth’s atmosphere at 17,500 miles per hour before parachutes deployed, slowing it to just 16 miles per hour before impact.

Recovery teams quickly retrieved the astronauts and flew them to Houston for medical evaluations and rehabilitation. Prolonged exposure to microgravity takes a toll on the human body, requiring post-flight recovery to counteract muscle atrophy and bone density loss.

Despite the challenges, Wilmore and Williams played crucial roles in the mission.