The ongoing National Guard mission in Washington, DC, as part of President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown in the city, is costing roughly $1 million a day, experts estimated to CNN.
Kate Kuzminski, director of studies at the Center for New American Security, told CNN that rough calculations show the mission is likely costing more than $1 million a day, when taking into account the pay for more than 2,200 National Guard troops deployed, housing, travel, food, fuel, and other logistical needs. That estimate is drawn from costs from the 2020 mobilization of roughly 5,000 National Guardsmen to DC, which was estimated to cost more than $2 million a day.
Retired Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who previously served as the chief of force structure and investment division at the Office of Management and Budget, also told CNN the estimated cost comes to roughly $1 million a day. Those estimates don’t include the costs from other federal law enforcement agencies involved in the mission.
The Pentagon and National Guard did not provide cost estimates for the mission, despite having been able to do so for a similar mission just two months ago.
“We won’t know the total cost until the mission concludes,” a defense official told CNN on Wednesday. The official referred CNN to the White House after follow-up questions about the daily $1 million estimate. Questions to the National Guard about the cost of the mission were referred to the Pentagon.
The Intercept was first to report the level of estimate on the cost of the National Guard mission.
It’s not unusual to not have a firm idea of the final price tag for a mission like the one ongoing in DC, as logistical needs can adjust over time, and it remains unclear if service members’ orders will be extended or not. But multiple US officials who spoke to CNN said the reluctance to provide a number is also due to the involvement of senior levels of the Pentagon and the White House in the mission, and a tight grasp on the flow of information about it.
Two US officials told CNN there was likely a rough estimate available for the DC mission, or one being calculated, but that only the most senior levels had permission to speak about it due to the political nature of the mission and the White House’s involvement. Communication about the cost, one of the officials said, is typically approved at much lower levels than the current mission. Because the mission is being funded federally, one of the officials said, the money is coming from the departments of the Army and the Air Force.
“We know that funding is made available, we just don’t know the estimate or who’s approving it or how much is available,” the second US official said, adding that “everybody wants to have their hands in” communication surrounding the mission due to the White House’s interest in it.
A third US official said it’s likely a mixture of both — that a cost estimate is generally still being calculated, but that until senior levels of the Pentagon or White House determine they want to release that information, it won’t be shared.
Still, the Pentagon was able to give a cost estimate for the LA mission in June just three days after roughly 4,000 Guardsmen were mobilized to assist law enforcement.
“The current estimated cost is $134 million which is largely just (temporary duty) cost, travel, housing, food, etc.,” Bryn MacDonnell, a special assistant to the secretary of defense and official performing the duties of the under secretary of defense, told Congress on June 10. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum mobilizing the first batch of 2,000 Guardsmen on June 7.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 2,254 National Guard troops in DC — more than 1,300 of them from the six states who sent personnel to support the DC National Guard. While some troops are stationed through the city at metro stations and monuments or memorials, soldiers and airmen have also begun helping with “beautification projects,” doing things like picking up trash, replanting grass, and spreading mulch.
In addition to the service members’ pay during the mission while they are on orders, the total cost of the mission also includes basic logistical needs like hotel rooms for out-of-state troops, food and water, fuel for vehicles, laundry service, and more.
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