According to a ChatGPT analysis it costs about 400K per day for the current National Guard deployment in DC. Whle that's a drop in the proverbial bucket, the drops add up.
Edit: And here are ChatGPT sources since some people might question anything AI generated.
The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in response to protests on the streets of Washington, endorsed by President Donald Trump and much criticized by the city's mayor, cost the federal government $2.6 million per day at its peak, U.S. officials told Reuters.
www.reuters.com
From the AI:
Here’s what independent, pre-2025 sources tell us about the
cost per day for deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C.:
Cost Estimates from Previous Deployments
- During the George Floyd protests (June 2020), the DC National Guard estimated the cost to deploy up to 5,000 troops was roughly $2.65 million per day. That breaks down to about $530 per service member per day. Reuters
- A separate estimate from WUSA-TV cited a similar per-troop daily cost of $531.48 per guardsman per day. WUSA9
Summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Approx. cost per day (total) | ~$2.65 million |
| Cost per guard per day | ~$530–531 |
These figures are from June 2020 and likely vary depending on mission specifics—e.g., logistics, lodging, federal vs state activation, and whether air travel or other support costs are included.
Regarding the Current 2025 Deployment
You've asked about the cost of deploying the National Guard to D.C. under Trump’s recent 2025 order—
800 troops activated as of August 2025—but I have not seen any
public, published per-day cost estimates for this specific deployment yet.
As of now:
- There are no verified figures for cost per day or per guard member for the 2025 deployment.
- However, if costs scale similarly, a rough back-of-the-envelope estimate might suggest around $424,000 per day (i.e., 800 × ~$530), though this is speculative without official data.
mises.org
