Jun 14, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Sending in National Guard for D.C. protests cost taxpayers $21 million

National Guard vehicles are used to block 16th Street near Lafayette Park and the White House on June 3. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump's move to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C. to respond to the protests that erupted after the killing of George Floyd cost taxpayers about $21 million, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast.

Why it matters: The National Guard's deployment to D.C. was one of the costliest compared to the other states that chose to deploy troops during the protests, according to the Daily Beast. Trump's threats to send active-duty military troops to cities that could not bring the protests under control was met with harsh criticism from current and former military officials.

The big picture: Guardsmen were sent to the nation's capital from 12 states “to support the D.C. civil unrest operations," a National Guard spokesperson told The Daily Beast. The total estimate does not include costs for air travel or for the other various federal law enforcement units that were dispatched.

  • About $18.2 million went to pay the guardsmen and about $2.9 million went to operations and management such as housing and transportation.
  • California spent about $25 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Minnesota spent about $12.7 million in total to deploy guard troops, the Star Tribune reports.

Go deeper: Members of D.C. National Guard test positive for coronavirus

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