The cost of deploying US troops in cities under Trump's 2025 decision
Recent official estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday revealed that the financial cost of President Donald Trump's decisions to deploy military forces within American cities exceeded half a billion dollars by 2025. These figures highlight the economic burdens resulting from the domestic security policies pursued by the Trump administration in its second term, amidst widespread political and legal controversy.
Details of the exorbitant bill for military deployment
According to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Philip Swagel, the total cost of troop deployments reached approximately $496 million through December 2025. This announcement came in response to formal inquiries from Democratic lawmakers seeking to scrutinize domestic military spending. These deployments were primarily concentrated in Democratic-led cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where the administration justified the moves as necessary to "contain uncontrolled unrest." Local authorities challenged this justification in court, limiting the expansion of these deployments to other areas.
Washington and Los Angeles... the largest share of the cost
Detailed data revealed that Washington, D.C., topped the list of cities with the highest budget expenditures, costing approximately $223 million for military security, with over 2,600 National Guard troops remaining on its streets. Los Angeles came in second with a cost of $193 million, and although the city saw a larger troop deployment, the duration was shorter compared to the capital.
Swagel cautioned that the financial future of these operations remains "uncertain," given the difficulty in predicting the duration of the unrest or which new locations will be targeted. Estimates suggest that, if the current situation persists, the monthly cost could range from $6 million for a limited deployment in New Orleans to $55 million per month for troops deployed in Washington, D.C., potentially leading to a significant increase in the civil emergency budget.
Context of military escalation: between internal and external
Domestic military actions cannot be separated from the combat doctrine adopted by Trump in his second term on the international stage. Alongside the militarization of American cities, the United States engaged in significant and decisive military operations abroad. In the Middle East, Trump ordered intensive air campaigns in Yemen, in addition to launching strategic strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, in an unprecedented escalation of tensions in the region.
In its immediate vicinity, Washington has taken drastic measures against what it describes as national security threats emanating from South America. These measures have included targeting drug-smuggling vessels, culminating in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and their subsequent transfer to New York to face trial on drug trafficking charges. This convergence of domestic and foreign policies reflects a hard-power approach to exerting control, raising profound questions about the long-term political and economic repercussions of this course of action on the United States' standing and internal stability.
