Democrats criticize cost of National Guard deployment in D.C. and its results in new report
Source: NBC News
Feb. 5, 2026, 5:00 AM EST
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard to the nation's capital has cost taxpayers more than $330 million and delivered little in the way of measurable results, according to a new report from Democrats on the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan and Andy Kim of New Jersey released the report Thursday as the National Guard's presence in Washington could continue through the rest of 2026. The senators said the deployment is on track to exceed $600 million at the one-year mark, in August.
“What’s interesting is that despite that significant investment of taxpayer dollars now six months into the mission, the National Guard has been unable to identify any specific measurable public safety outcomes directly attributable to their presence,” Peters, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters on a media call.
The 14-page report characterizes the National Guard's presence as having a vague crime-fighting directive with an “unrealistic or unachievable outcome that would leave them in D.C. indefinitely.” It says a top National Guard commander told staff members that their mission is to help drive down metrics like violent crimes and drug overdoses so that they're nonexistent.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-criticize-cost-national-guard-deployment-dc-results-new-repo-rcna257470
Link to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Democrats PRESS RELEASE - Peters and Kim Report Finds Trump Administration’s National Guard Deployment in D.C. Costs Taxpayers More Than
Link to REPORT (PDF viewer) - https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:ef81a463-52a1-46c0-be77-243c4570e889
Link to REPORT (PDF) - https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/NationalGuardReport.pdf
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