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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

Go deeper

Rashaan Ayesh
Aug 30, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Mark Meadows: "Most of Donald Trump's America is peaceful"

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows argued Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that "most of Donald Trump's America is peaceful" and that the violence that the Trump campaign has so frequently highlighted as part of its "law and order" message is in "Democrat cities."

Why it matters: One of the main themes of last week's Republican convention was that scenes of violent protests and crime are what America will look like under a Joe Biden administration. Biden shot back on Thursday, saying: "The violence we’re witnessing is happening under Donald Trump. Not me. It’s getting worse, and we know why."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated Aug 31, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Biden to deliver remarks in Pittsburgh on Trump's America and vision for future

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center on Aug. 20, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday to make an address "on whether voters feel safe" in President Trump's America and offer his vision for a "better future," his campaign said in a statement.

Of note: The Biden campaign's announcement Sunday comes one day after the New York Times reported that the former vice president would be making a trip to "condemn violence, and to note that chaos has unfolded" on Trump's watch.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Rebecca Falconer
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: D.C. and U.S. states on alert for pre-inauguration violence

National Guard troops stand behind security fencing with the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building behind them, on Jan. 16. Photo: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Security has been stepped up in Washington, D.C., and state capitols across the U.S. as authorities brace for potential violence this weekend.

Driving the news: Following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by some supporters of President Trump, the FBI has said there could be armed protests in D.C. and in all 50 state capitols in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday.

See photos (<1 min. read)Arrow