The National Guard presence in the capital, which once reached over 26,000 troops and will continue into the spring, will cost taxpayers nearly half a billion dollars, Pentagon officials said.
The Guard presence began with just 340 citizen-soldiers helping to direct traffic on Jan. 6, the day the Capitol was overrun by pro-Trump rioters. It quickly ramped up to include troops from all 50 states, three U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia following the violence, and those military personnel were helping lock down the city ahead of now-President Biden’s inauguration.
The Pentagon, for the first time, revealed Monday that the total cost of the deployment through March 15 will be $483 million, with $284 million stemming from personnel costs and $199 million from their operations. The figures were revealed following a question posed by the Washington Examiner.
Members of Congress and governors have objected to the heavy-handed presence amid an uncertain threat.
“I mean, when you look at the Army encampment that we have now,” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said on Fox News on Jan. 29.
“There are still 5,000 troops this huge perimeter with razor wire. This isn’t really a great image for a free country or for our country,” he added. “So, I say the sooner it’s torn down, the better. Who’s making these decisions, I guess, they’re unilaterally being made by Nancy Pelosi, maybe Chuck Schumer. But, I think also Democrats need to look in the mirror a little bit.”
He was referring to the Democratic House speaker and Senate majority leader, who have roles in Capitol complex security.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Guard members at the Capitol recently to underscore his confidence in the continued mission.
“He very much wants to get them back home and back to their lives and to their jobs and to their families as soon as possible,” Kirby told Pentagon reporters Wednesday. “We also have what we still consider to be a valid requirement for their assistance, and we’re going to have to, you know, continue to meet that.”
The Guard had been running two 12-hour shifts of 3,500 on-duty service members providing assistance to the Secret Service, the Park Police, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the district’s Metropolitan Police. The D.C. National Guard told the Washington Examiner Monday that some shifts have been reduced to eight hours.
National Guard Bureau spokesman Maj. Matt Murphy told the Washington Examiner that the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, scheduled to start Tuesday, was among the events that required extra security.
“They’re positioning them where they think there’s the greatest risks,” he said. “We’re still following the plan based on the request that we’re given.”
The National Guard Bureau also said that the Guard has been paying the bills with its appropriation of $19 billion for the current fiscal year. However, Guard officials intend to ask the Department of Defense for a reimbursement of the mission’s costs.
