Federal troop deployments to US cities cost taxpayers $496M and counting
[January 29, 2026]
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's high-profile deployment of
federal troops to six U.S. cities has cost taxpayers roughly $496
million through the end of December, and continued deployment could cost
over $1 billion for the rest of the year, according to new data from the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
President Donald Trump has justified sending National Guard troops into
U.S. cities as part of an effort to combat crime and support local law
enforcement. Critics of the move argue the deployments undermine state
and local authority and exceed the president’s authority under the
Constitution.
The CBO published the new data estimating the costs associated with the
federal deployments of National Guard and active-duty Marines after a
request from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who is the ranking member on the
Senate Budget Committee.
“The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of
their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s
reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland
and cities across the country,” Merkley said in a statement about the
CBO report.
Factored into the estimates are troop deployments to Chicago, Memphis,
Portland, as well as Los Angeles in June, when protesters took to the
streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests. The CBO said
continued deployments to those cities would cost about $93 million per
month.
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The estimate excludes the military's December deployment to New
Orleans.
For further possible deployments down the road, the CBO estimates
deploying 1,000 National Guard personnel to a U.S. city in 2026
would cost $18 million to $21 million per month, depending on the
local cost of living.
National Guard troops are expected to remain deployed in Washington
throughout 2026, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated
Press earlier this month.
The troop deployments have provoked legal challenges from local
leaders, and some have been successful. A California federal judge
in January ruled that the Trump administration “willfully” broke
federal law by sending National Guard units to the Los Angeles area.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson did not address the CBO's
cost estimate but said in a statement that the White House's
deployment efforts have driven down crime.
“Thanks to the Trump Administration’s highly successful efforts to
drive down violent crime, cities like Memphis and D.C. are much
safer for residents and visitors — with crime dropping across all
major categories,” she said. “The media should talk to individuals
who are able to go about their daily lives without fear of being
assaulted, carjacked, or robbed thanks to the Trump Administration.”
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