The US President has revealed what he’ll do if he ‘has to’ if NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams aren’t paid overtime
US President Donald Trump has weighed in on NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams not receiving overtime pay.
NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams found themselves stranded in space for over nine months, far beyond their intended eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Despite the unexpected extension and the toll it took on their families, health, and personal lives, a NASA spokesperson revealed that the astronauts don’t receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay. Instead, they are paid a standard 40-hour work-week salary for their unplanned extended stay.
After launching for their brief mission on June 5, 2024, they were originally scheduled to return after eight days but finally made it back to Earth on March 18 — almost nine months later. The delay was caused by malfunctions with their spacecraft, forcing them to be rescued by SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Despite the hardship, the spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business: “Astronauts receive their regular, 40-hour work-week salaries while on the ISS. They do not receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay.” They also noted that astronauts are on long-term Temporary Duty (TDY), with a daily incidentals allowance of $5 for each day spent in space. For reference, former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman revealed she received about $4 a day during her 159-day mission, totaling around $636 for incidentals.
Wilmore’s daughter recently took to TikTok to claim her father would receive an additional $5 a day, adding up to $1,430 on top of his roughly $152,258 annual salary (based on NASA’s publicly available data).
In response to the astronauts’ lack of overtime pay, President Trump expressed his surprise during a press briefing earlier today (March 21), stating it was the first he had heard of the issue. He added, “If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket!”
Trump addressed the astronauts’ situation, saying: “Nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket. I’ll take care of it.”
He also expressed his concerns on Truth Social, where he had earlier directed Elon Musk to assist. In a post, Trump claimed that Wilmore and Williams had been “abandoned in space by the Biden Administration,” adding, “They have been waiting for many months on the Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck, Elon!!!”
