Taxpayers in California are facing a bill of nearly $120 million following the federal deployment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles earlier this year. The move, initiated by former President Donald Trump under Title 10 authority, placed more than 4,200 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines on duty in the city.
Of the total estimated cost, $71 million was spent on food and other basic necessities, $37 million covered payroll expenses, over $4 million went to logistics supplies, $3.5 million was used for travel costs, and demobilization accounted for $1.5 million.
“Let us not forget what this political theater is costing us all – millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain, an atrophy to the readiness of guardsmembers across the nation and unnecessary hardships to the families supporting those troops. Talk about waste, fraud, and abuse. We ask other states to do the math themselves,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.
The deployment left roughly 300 National Guard members still stationed in Los Angeles under orders to protect federal facilities. According to officials, fewer than 20% of those deployed were actively utilized during their assignment; most spent time waiting for orders at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos or were assigned duties far from their specialized skills.
Many soldiers reportedly faced poor conditions early in the deployment—sleeping on floors or outdoors with limited access to functioning facilities—and morale among deployed personnel suffered as a result. In addition, some Guardsmembers were taken away from essential civilian jobs such as first responders or from specialized assignments like firefighting teams and counterdrug operations along California’s borders.
In August, Governor Newsom’s office submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents detailing all expenses related to activating Marines and federalizing National Guard forces since June 7. While there has been no response yet from federal authorities regarding this request, estimates provided by the California National Guard have been made available at Newsom’s request.
On Tuesday of this week, California sought a preliminary injunction against extending the deployment through Election Day—a move that coincided with a federal court ruling in favor of blocking what state officials described as “Trump’s illegal use of the U.S. military as a domestic police force.” The court found that President Trump had violated legal boundaries by ordering expanded law enforcement activities by military personnel beyond protecting federal buildings.
The legal action follows events dating back to June 10 when Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an emergency motion challenging President Trump’s order expanding military involvement in civilian law enforcement within Los Angeles communities.
