The financial outlay associated with President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal troops to major US metropolitan areas throughout 2025 reached nearly half a billion dollars, according to recent figures released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO report, authored by Director Phillip Swagel, estimates the total cost through the end of December 2025 at approximately $496 million. This figure covers operations where over 10,000 National Guard soldiers and active-duty Marines were activated across locations including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Portland, Chicago, and New Orleans, ostensibly to deter crime and support federal immigration enforcement objectives.
The actual troop presence fluctuated significantly during the year due to legal challenges mounted by state and municipal authorities against the executive orders. By the close of 2025, the number of deployed personnel had stabilized at just over 5,000. The CBO projects that sustaining this reduced force level will carry a monthly price tag of $93 million throughout 2026.
Geographically, Washington, D.C., proved to be the most expensive theater, costing $232 million in 2025 for the deployment of 2,950 personnel. The administration intends to maintain this presence through the end of 2026, which the CBO estimates will cost the capital region $55 million monthly.
Los Angeles accounted for the second-largest expenditure, totaling $193 million in 2025, stemming from an initial activation of 4,200 National Guard and 700 Marines, although this operation was largely curtailed within three months. Deployments in Portland and Chicago were comparatively smaller, costing $26 million and $21 million per month, respectively, at their peaks.
Operations in Washington, D.C., Memphis, and New Orleans remain active as 2026 commences, while deployments in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland have been suspended. The CBO notes that future costs are inherently uncertain, dependent on the unpredictable scale, duration, and location of any subsequent deployments, estimating that a standard 1,000-person National Guard deployment could cost between $18 million and $21 million monthly in 2026.
This data underscores the substantial fiscal commitment required when federal military resources are repurposed for domestic security roles, providing concrete metrics for evaluating the economic impact of such policy decisions. (Source: Al Jazeera analysis based on CBO data released January 2026).
