Half a billion dollars for troops in cities. Trump's surgery costs revealed

US President Donald Trump's sending of the National Guard to several American cities cost taxpayers almost $500 million last year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported.

From June through the end of 2025, the Trump administration deployed Guardsmen and Marines to six cities: Los Angeles, Memphis, Portland, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New Orleans. 200 soldiers also remained on standby in Texas after their withdrawal from Chicago.

According to CBO the total cost of these operations (except for New Orleans, where Guard operations began at the end of the year) was $496 million.

The office noted that it is difficult to accurately estimate the costs of these operations due to variables regarding their scale, length and location. “This uncertainty is deepened by legal issues that have suspended the sending of troops to some cities and changes in the administration's policy,” it emphasized.

Continuing to deploy the National Guard in the same numbers as at the end of 2025 would cost $93 million per month – the office said in response to a question from Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley about the costs of such operations.

On December 31, Trump announced the withdrawal of the National Guard from Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago. However, he did not rule out their return if crime increases in these Democrat-ruled cities.

In practice, troops never entered either Chicago or Portland due to federal court decisions that deemed it illegal to send troops against the will of the state authorities. In Los Angeles – where they were deployed in response to riots and protests against immigration enforcement officers conducting roundups of undocumented immigrants – soldiers were stationed for months, although most of the forces were withdrawn in the summer.

National Guard forces are present in Washington, D.C., Memphis and New Orleans, where they are located with the permission of local authorities. According to the media, the mission in Washington, the purpose of which – according to Trump – is to fight crime, has been extended until the end of 2026.

From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

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