The extension of the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., until January 2029 will cost roughly $1.4 billion, according to a Defense Department estimate provided to Congress. The estimate covers fiscal years 2027 through 2029 and assumes an average of 2,500 National Guard members in Washington through January 2029.
The cost estimate came in response to questions from Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and was provided to The Associated Press. The deployment began last summer after President Donald Trump issued an emergency order launching a law enforcement surge in the city. The administration has said the effort was intended to fight crime.
Hundreds of armed Guard troops have been deployed on city streets, supporting arrest operations while also helping with snow removal and carrying out beautification projects. Their numbers rose to about 5,000 this summer as Washington marked the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
While American families are getting flattened by skyrocketing costs, Donald Trump is spending $1.4 billion to keep troops on the streets in Washington for years on end,
Warren criticized the expense and the use of the Guard in an emailed statement, saying, “The National Guard are not pawns and taxpayer dollars are not a piggy bank for Trump’s political stunts.” Local officials have criticized the deployment as an infringement on the city’s autonomy, while Democrats have said it has militarized the streets of the nation’s capital at the public’s expense.
The Pentagon said last month that the Guard mission will continue until Jan. 20, 2029, “or until terminated by the President.” The deployment had been set to expire at the end of this year after previously being extended. While courts have restricted the use of National Guard members elsewhere, their presence continues in large numbers in Washington, where the president is the direct commander of the D.C. Guard.
As of late July, 4,600 military personnel from Washington and 23 states and territories remained in the city. Some had been sent to help with security and other functions connected to events around July 4. It is not clear whether governors will extend their state units for more than two years. Georgia had roughly 800 personnel in Washington, more than the D.C. National Guard, and a Georgia Air National Guard spokesperson said the increased number was temporary. Arkansas National Guard officials said about half of the state’s 238 soldiers in Washington would return home.