National Guard Presence in Washington Could Cost Taxpayers $1.4B by 2029, Says DOD

Published Aug 5, 2026, 1:33 PM EDT

The Defense Department provided the estimate to Congress on Tuesday.

Follow

Published Aug 5, 2026, 1:33 PM EDT

Extending the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. until January 2029 will cost approximately $1.4 billion, according to the Department of Defense. The department on Aug. 4 estimated the deployment cost in Fiscal Years 2027 through 2029. It came due to a request by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), asking Jules Hurst III, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, about the matter during his confirmation hearing to become the Pentagon's comptroller. Warren then provided the estimate to The Washington Post. “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 to the Associated Press. “The National Guard are not pawns and taxpayer dollars are not a piggy bank for Trump’s political stunts.” President Donald Trump first authorized the use of National Guardsman in the nation's capital in August 2025 to combat what he described as a crime problem in the District of Columbia. The decision was deemed controversial.