President Donald Trump’s decision to keep National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C., through the end of his term will cost an additional $1.4 billion in taxpayer funds, according to budget estimates provided to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office and shared with NOTUS.
The new estimates cover the time period from October 2026 through January 2029, adding to the millions that have already been spent to pay, house and equip the soldiers currently deployed to D.C.
The deployment has drawn a flurry of criticism from locals and Democratic lawmakers, who say it’s a massively expensive and ineffective project that comes as Americans are struggling to pay for basic necessities.
“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 said in a statement on Tuesday. “The National Guard are not pawns and taxpayer dollars are not a piggy bank for Trump’s political stunts.”
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The Washington Post was first to report on the new estimates.
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The price tag for fiscal year 2027 will include $375.7 million in pay and travel allowance and $221.2 million in operational and maintenance costs, according to the estimate provided to Warren by Jules Hurst as part of his confirmation process to become the Pentagon’s comptroller.
For fiscal year 2028, an estimated $625.8 million will be spent on the deployment, and for the remainder of Trump’s term, from Oct. 1, 2028 to Inauguration Day, it will cost an estimated $198.3 million.
Trump initially mobilized 800 District of Columbia National Guard members on Aug. 11, 2025, as part of his D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force. At the time of the deployment, which has been extended several times already, Trump claimed that D.C.’s crime rate required urgent federal intervention.
After more than a year of deployment, Trump touted in a Fourth of July speech that Washington was now “one of the safest cities in the country” — though studies suggest the National Guard has had little to no impact on reducing violent crime.
The number of troops has ballooned to 4,600 and grown to include personnel from other states.
Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, the interim commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, told reporters on Monday that troops have assisted law enforcement 479 times and responded to 788 medical emergencies. Blanchard said a new $292 million contract to house troops will cut housing fees in half.
“When we talk about the cost, we’re very mindful of that,” Blanchard said, “which is why we spend a lot of time trying to be more efficient and more effective as leaders with the dollars.”
The Pentagon extended the National Guard’s deployment in D.C. despite complaints that it is too costly and largely ineffective. Deployment costs about $3 million a day, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The cost estimates Hurst provided are based on staffing roughly 2,500 troops, and exclude the temporary surge for Freedom 250 events.
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