Pentagon estimates sending Marines, National Guard to LA will cost $134M

The Pentagon estimates the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles to suppress immigration raid protests will cost about $134 million, the Defense Department’s acting comptroller said Tuesday.

“The current estimated cost is $134 million, which is largely just [temporary duty travel] costs, travel, housing, food, etc.,” Bryn MacDonnell, a special assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Responding to questions from Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), as to how the deployments would be funded, MacDonnell added that the money will come from the Pentagon’s operation and maintenance accounts.

The answer came more than an hour after Hegseth originally refused to answer the question about the cost of President Trump’s decision to call in some 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

After the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), pressed Hegseth on the cost of the deployments and whether any trainings were being pushed off due to the troop movements, the Pentagon chief instead defended ICE agents as having “the right to safely conduct operations in any state and any jurisdiction in the country.” 

He also attacked Democratic leaders for their handling of current and previous incidents of civil unrest, referencing the George Floyd murder protests in 2020 in Minneapolis and claiming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) mobilized the National Guard “eventually far too late.”

“President Trump recognizes a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor, like it was by Gov. Walz, if it gets out of control, it’s a bad situation for the citizens,” Hegseth said.

The answer prompted McCollum to interrupt him to press him to address her original question.

“Chairman, I have limited time. I asked a budget question,” McCollum interjected.

After further filibustering from Hegseth, McCollum grew frustrated, telling the panel she would “yield back my time if the secretary refuses to answer the budgetary questions I put before him. They’re important.”

“What training missions aren’t happening? Where are you pulling the money from? And how are you planning this moving forward? These are budget questions that affect this committee and the decisions we’re going to be making in a couple of hours.”

Hegseth only replied that the Pentagon has the funding “to cover down on contingencies, especially ones as important as maintaining law and order in major American city.”

In her opening remarks, McCollum criticized Trump’s decision to call in the California National Guard troops as “premature,” and the decision to deploy active duty Marines as “downright escalatory.”

“I ask you Mr. Secretary, and I ask the president, follow the law,” she said.

Later in the hearing, Aguilar expressed “severe concern with the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles without consultation of the state of California,” pointing to photographs circulating on social media that show troops sleeping on the floor of government buildings. He also repeated the claim from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that the service members have not been provided fuel, food or water by the Defense Department. 

“How long will the deployment last, and why were we not prepared to provide them with basics such as food and water?” he asked.

Hegseth called the claim a “disingenuous attack,” and said the troops “are very well prepared,” 

“They responded incredibly rapidly to a deteriorating situation with equipment and capabilities,” Hegseth said. “There are moments where you make do as best you can temporarily, but we are ensuring they’re housed, fed, water capabilities in real time.”

He also noted the deployment was expected to last 60 days.

Updated at 12:12 p.m. EDT