On March 21, 2025, President Donald Trump made headlines by offering to personally cover overtime pay for NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who had just returned from an extended nine-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts, originally scheduled for an eight-day mission in June 2024, were stranded due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, forcing them to remain in orbit until a SpaceX Dragon capsule retrieved them on March 18, 2025. During a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump expressed shock upon learning that the astronauts received no overtime or holiday pay for their 286-day ordeal, only their standard 40-hour work-week salaries—roughly $152,258 annually—plus a meager $5 daily incidental stipend, totaling $1,430. Trump declared, “Nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket,” framing his offer as a gesture of appreciation for their service and a critique of NASA’s compensation policies.
 

Trump’s offer came after he had already taken credit for the astronauts’ safe return, having publicly urged Elon Musk and SpaceX in January 2025 to “go get” the pair, whom he claimed had been “virtually abandoned” by the Biden administration. This narrative, however, clashed with NASA’s stance and the astronauts’ own statements. Williams and Wilmore had repeatedly emphasized they were not stranded, pointing out that NASA had a plan in place—initiated under Biden—to bring them home via the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which was adjusted to accommodate their return. NASA also maintained that the astronauts were prepared for extended missions, with their health closely monitored, and that their stay was extended to ensure the ISS remained fully staffed for ongoing scientific work. Trump’s insistence on the “abandoned” label, coupled with his offer to pay overtime, painted a picture of a leader stepping in to right a perceived wrong, though it also highlighted his tendency to reshape narratives for political gain, especially given his ongoing rivalry with Biden’s legacy.
 

The gesture sparked mixed reactions. Supporters on platforms like X hailed Trump’s offer as a generous and patriotic act, with some posts calling it “incredible” and accusing the media of downplaying the story. Critics, however, saw it as a publicity stunt, noting that the astronauts themselves never complained about their pay and were grateful for the opportunity to serve, with Williams even setting a record for the most spacewalking hours by a woman during the mission. NASA’s policy of not providing overtime for astronauts—treating them as federal employees on long-term temporary duty—has long been standard, as evidenced by former astronaut Clayton Anderson’s $1.20 daily per diem for a 152-day mission in 2007. Trump’s offer, while well-intentioned, raised questions about whether it addressed a real issue or simply amplified a narrative of neglect that the astronauts themselves rejected, underscoring the tension between political rhetoric and the realities of space exploration.