Pentagon budgets $1.4 billion for National Guard in D.C.
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National Guard troops rallied at Meridian Hill Park last month. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The National Guard is planning to stick around D.C. through January 2029 at a cost of $1.4 billion, per Pentagon budget estimates.
Why it matters: It's the clearest accounting yet of what it'd take to keep thousands of troops on city streets, while critics question whether taxpayer funds can be spent more efficiently on public safety.
The big picture: A year after President Trump's deployment, the sight of federal troops huddling on street corners or patrolling in sixes has become a part of daily life in Washington.
- Their numbers surged this summer to 4,622 as of Monday, with large contingents from Republican-led states like Georgia (800 troops) and South Carolina (492).
- And they're moving into new short-term rentals in neighborhoods like Dupont Circle, which officials say cost about half as much as hotels. Even so, housing is projected to cost about $4,055 a month per troop.
By the numbers: The Pentagon is requesting about $605 million to cover pay, travel allowances, and operation costs for fiscal 2027, per documents shared with Axios by Sen. Elizabeth Warren's office, after the Washington Post broke the news.
- That includes $626 million for 2028 and an additional $198 million until Trump leaves office on Jan. 20, 2029.
- Those estimates assume the average size of the force shrinks to roughly 2,500 after this summer's 250th anniversary events conclude.
Flashback: Much of the original backlash to the deployment was that it would normalize the "use of military troops for domestic law enforcement," as D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argued in an ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Friction point: While Trump officials have defended the Guard's presence as necessary to deter crime, Niskanen Center researchers have said that the deployment isn't what reduced violent crime over the last year.
- Researchers argued in May there are cheaper ways to fight crime, like investing that money in policing instead.
What they're saying: Guard members have responded to about 800 medical emergencies, said Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard, the head of the D.C. National Guard, per the Post.