D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling for the Pentagon to provide an estimate of the cost of deploying 2,000 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 case, which puts service members and the public at risk,” she said. “I urge you to end this gross abuse of power and withdraw the troops immediately.”
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 30 days, which requires the approval of Congress.
Cost may be close to $1 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 some guidance.
In 2020, Trump ordered the deployment of more than 5,000 National Guard personnel to support 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. officials told Reuters it cost about $530 per guard member, per day, to be deployed.
The D.C. National Guard said it cost roughly $2.6 million a day for the 5,000 National Guard troops that were deployed five years ago.
Based on those estimates, the current deployment in D.C. likely costs more than $1 million a day.
Former guard members question D.C. deployment
The Trump administration and many Republican lawmakers credit the presence of the National Guard with helping to decrease crime in the District over the past two weeks.
But some military veterans from Ohio — one of the six states that have sent in guard personnel — said 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 wanted to become (MPD officers) or ICE agents, they would have signed up for that instead of the National Guard,” said 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 said 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.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
