The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has informed Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, that the deployment of National Guard personnel to U.S. cities under President Donald Trump has cost taxpayers more than $589 million so far. The CBO projects that if these deployments continue at current levels, they will add another $93 million in costs each month. Each additional Guard unit activated is expected to increase expenses by $18-21 million per 1,000 soldiers.
President Trump previously ordered National Guard troops into several major cities, including Portland, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Memphis. The CBO estimates that keeping troops in Washington D.C. for the rest of 2026 alone could cost up to $660 million. If deployments also continue in Memphis and Texas as planned, and personnel remain in New Orleans for two more months, total costs could reach $1.1 billion.
Senator Merkley commented on the findings: “The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and cities across the country. That’s why we’ve called for this full, independent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to get a detailed understanding of the cost. Trump is weaponizing taxpayer funds to illegally tighten his authoritarian grip on our communities. It must end.”
The analysis was conducted after Senator Merkley led a letter requesting a detailed review from CBO regarding the costs associated with activating and maintaining National Guard deployments. Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, Andy Kim, Alex Padilla, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, and Ron Wyden co-signed this request.
Additionally, CBO recently told Senator Merkley that efforts by the Trump Administration to rename the Department of Defense could cost as much as $125 million. The report notes that unless Congress passes legislation authorizing such a change, any executive order would be symbolic rather than legally binding.
In October, Senator Merkley joined other lawmakers in calling for an inquiry by the Department of Defense Inspector General into domestic deployments of active-duty and National Guard troops. He emphasized concerns about potential illegality and effects on military readiness.
The full response from CBO is available online.
