The catch is, though, bonuses will only go to a select number of TSA agents who went “above and beyond,” according to Noem’s statement. The Transportation Security Administration employs about 65,000 workers, of which more than 50,000 are transportation security officers.

Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, began handing out $10,000 checks to T.S.A. workers who “went above and beyond” during the shutdown, after the president recommended similar bonuses for so...