Trump suggests he’ll pay OT for returned astronauts

President Donald Trump on Friday said he would pay the overtime for astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, who returned to Earth this week after spending nine months in space on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission.

Trump was asked about the calculated overtime while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office.

“Nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket,” Trump said in response to Fox News’ Peter Doocy’s question. “Is that all? That’s not alot for what they had to go through.”

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First image taken from video released by SpaceX shows dolphins swimming near a SpaceX capsule, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, after landing off the coast of Florida with NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Ale ((SpaceX via AP) / AP Images)

Doocy noted that Wilmore and Williams each received $5 per diem for each day in space, amounting to $1,430 in extra pay.

President Donald Trump provided an update on the stranded NASA astronauts set to make their way back to Earth.

Williams and Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station in June for what they believed was an eight-day mission. A rescue crew brought them back this week on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, some 286 days after they departed Earth.

While speaking with reporters, Trump thanked Elon Muskthe head of Tesla, SpaceX and the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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“Think if we don’t have him?” Trump said. “If we don’t have Elon. They could be up there a long time. Who is else is going to get them?”

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He noted that the “body starts to deteriorate” after a few months orbiting in space.