HOUSTON — One day after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem started handing out $10,000 bonus checks to Transportation Security Administration officers who not only worked without pay for the past 43 days but demonstrated exemplary service.

“What I’m so proud of today is the outstanding patriotism and service of our TSA officers that stepped up every single day to make sure that those individuals at our airports and at our transportation systems continued to be safe and secure,” Noem said Thursday during an event at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where she was flanked by more than a dozen TSA employees who received the bonus checks.

She said the payments are to reward TSA agents “for stepping up, taking

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