President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to American cities cost taxpayers about $496 million in 2025, according to new estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The agency said Wednesday that maintaining current troop levels could add $93 million per month to the total, with each additional activation of 1,000 service members costing between $18 million and $21 million.
It cautioned, however, that the precise price tag is hard to foresee.
“The costs of those or other deployments in the future are highly uncertain, mainly because the scale, length, and location of such deployments are difficult to predict accurately,” the report said. “That uncertainty is compounded by legal challenges, which have stopped deployments to some cities, and by changes in the Administration’s policies.”
In June, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles to protect government personnel and property amid protests linked to his administration’s immigration crackdown. He has since sent National Guard troops to Chicago; Memphis, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; New Orleans; and Washington, D.C. Trump has defended the deployments as a way to combat crime.
Deployments in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland — which were ordered over the objections of state and local officials — have since been paused as legal challenges unfold.
“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again – Only a question of time!” the president declared in a post on Truth Social in December.
Trump also indicated that troops will remain in Washington for the remainder of 2026. The CBO estimates that keeping 2,950 personnel in the nation’s capital would cost taxpayers $55 million per month.
The top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, accused Trump of “weaponizing taxpayer funds.”
“That’s why we’ve called for this full, independent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to get a detailed understanding of the cost,” Merkley said Wednesday. “Trump is weaponizing taxpayer funds to illegally tighten his authoritarian grip on our communities. It must end.”
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a combat veteran, said in a statement that the deployments, “are not just an immense waste of taxpayer dollars, they are harmful to our military’s readiness, morale and resources and create an incredibly dangerous precedent.”
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.