Skip to main content
Feb 7, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Federal government spent $480 million deploying National Guard troops after Capitol riots

Maria Arias
Virginia National Guard troops pose for a photo during a promotion ceremony on the center steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Virginia National Guard troops on the center steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 has cost taxpayers upwards of $480 million for the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Washington.

Why it matters: A Washington Post review of local, state and federal spending records, that found former President Trump's refusal to concede the election cost Americans at least $519 million in repairing damaged property, finding and prosecuting insurrectionists, recounting votes and, of course, increasing security protocols.

Driving the news: According to Bloomberg, Defense Department officials estimated that the $480 million would cover the National Guard spending through mid-March.

  • The deployment was the largest in Washington since the Civil War, according to Bloomberg, with 25,000 troops deployed after the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol.
  • U.S. Capitol Police requested that 5,000 National Guard soldiers remain in Washington through mid-March.
  • The National Guard costs don’t include $8.8 million D.C. police spent during the week of Jan. 6 when it dispatched 850 officers to help defend the Capitol.
Go deeper