FILE - Members of the California National Guard and U.S. Marines guard a federal building on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)WASHINGTON, DC – The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that recent deployments of National Guard troops to U.S. ci ties under President Donald Trump have cost taxpayers about $589 million so far and could continue to cost tens of millions of dollars each month if current deployment levels remain unchanged. The cost estimate was provided to Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. According to the CBO, ongoing deployments would cost an additional $93 million per month, while each future activation of 1,000 Guard members would add between $18 million and $21 million. The Trump administration has deployed National Guard troops to several cities, including Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and Memphis, Tennessee. After Trump directed that National Guard troops remain stationed in Washington through the end of 2026, the CBO estimated that deployment alone would cost about $660 million. If deployments continue in Memphis, 200 Texas National Guard troops remain active throughout 2026, and Guard personnel stay in New Orleans for two additional months, the total cost would rise to an estimated $1.1 billion, the agency said. “The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and cities across the country,” Merkley said in a statement. “That’s why we’ve called for this full, independent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to get a detailed understanding of the cost.” Merkley led a group of Senate Democrats in requesting the CBO analysis, which examined the costs associated with activating, deploying, compensating and sustaining National Guard personnel. Senators who co-signed the request include Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon. The CBO has also recently estimated that the Trump administration could spend as much as $125 million related to efforts to rename the Department of Defense. The agency noted that without congressional approval, any such change ordered by executive action would be symbolic rather than official. In October, Merkley and other lawmakers requested that the Defense Department’s inspector general review the domestic deployment of active-duty and National Guard troops. The lawmakers raised concerns about the impact of such deployments on military readiness and the role of the armed forces. The full CBO response was made available to lawmakers this week.  Click HERE to read it. ...read more read less