US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will personally pay the overtime wages for astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, who spent extra time in space before returning to Earth this week.

Originally scheduled for an eight-day mission, the astronauts ended up spending 286 days in space, 278 days longer than planned due to a malfunction in their spacecraft.

While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Donald Trump was asked about the astronauts' calculated overtime pay. He responded, "Nobody's ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I'll pay it out of my pocket."
Trump made this remark after a Fox News reporter pointed out that Wilmore and Williams each received a $5 per diem for every day spent in space, totalling $1,430 in extra pay.

A rescue crew brought Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore back to Earth this week aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Donald Trump expressed his gratitude to Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "Think if we don't have him?" Trump said. "If we don't have Elon, they could be up there a long time. Who else is going to get them?"

He also noted that spending extended time in orbit can have serious effects on the human body, stating that "the body starts to deteriorate" after a few months in space.
According to NASA, in addition to their annual salary of about $152,258, Wilmore and Williams earned an extra $1,430 for their 286 days in space, based on a $5 per diem allowance.

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