The Trump administration has spent millions over the past 12 months on food costs for National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C.
Thousands of military members have been deployed to D.C. since August 2025 as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative targeting crime and public disorder. Roughly 3,000 troops were quartered in the city as of September.
Since October 2025, the Pentagon has spent over $49 million feeding the troops in D.C. and will spend another $20 million by the end of 2026, according to an investigation by the Washington Sun. Deploying 1,000 troops to a city costs anywhere from $18 million to $21 million a month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in January.
The $49 million bill was for “breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight meals” for National Guard members deployed to D.C. for Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force and America 250 celebrations, when more troops were activated to boost security during high-profile events.
The Pentagon is projected to spend $1.4 billion to keep troops deployed in the city from October 2026 through January 2029, when they are set to leave.
Officials have said that between August 2025 and August 2026, the deployment led to the arrests of 35 homicide suspects and more than 100 known gang members, along with more than 3,200 narcotics arrests, nearly 2,000 illegal guns seized, and 25 missing children located and returned home. Over 16,000 arrests have been made in D.C. due to Trump’s anti-crime campaign in the city, according to the Justice Department.
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The deployment came after D.C. authorities warned that police department staffing levels were “dangerously low.” The MPD is short about 900 officers, a 50-year low contributing to the district’s struggle to tackle crime.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Pentagon for comment.