What’s the cost of the National Guard deployment in DC?

D C Del Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling for the Pentagon to provide an estimate of the cost of deploying National Guard personnel in the District during the federal law enforcement surge against crime Norton sent a letter on Monday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen Steven Nordhaus outlining her opposition to the deployment A tenet of our democracy is that the military does not engage in civilian law enforcement and it is not trained to do so in any scenario which puts utility members and the inhabitants at danger she disclosed I urge you to end this gross abuse of power and withdraw the troops this instant The Democratic lawmaker questioned the legal basis for sending in the National Guard seeking more information about its scope and mission as well as the cost President Donald Trump has held out the possibility of keeping the National Guard in D C beyond days which requires the approval of Congress Cost may be close to million a day The Pentagon so far has not provided a formal estimate of what the National Guard deployment is costing But a past deployment in D C may provide particular guidance In Trump ordered the deployment of more than National Guard personnel to patronage law enforcement during demonstrations that took place in the wake of the killing of George Floyd a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him under his knee After the protests U S administrators recounted Reuters it cost about per guard member per day to be deployed The D C National Guard reported it cost roughly million a day for the National Guard troops that were deployed five years ago Based on those estimates the current deployment in D C likely costs more than million a day Former guard members question D C deployment The Trump administration and various Republican lawmakers credit the presence of the National Guard with helping to decrease crime in the District over the past two weeks But specific military veterans from Ohio one of the six states that have sent in guard personnel explained on Monday that they oppose the deployment On a media conference call they argued that the deployment sets a dangerous precedent and potentially undermines the readiness of guard units in their home states I think it goes without saying that if our citizen-soldiers requested to become MPD officers or ICE agents they would have signed up for that instead of the National Guard declared Jermaine Collins a former Ohio National Guard member who now lives in D C The president meanwhile is still holding open the possibility of sending the National Guard to other cities including Baltimore and Chicago In response to a reporter s question he also noted he would be open to sending National Guard units to red states with crime problems But he suggested major cities led by Democrats have larger problems Source