Trump Has Already Spent $500 Million Deploying Troops to U.S. Cities

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US Cities Under Siege: Trump's $500 Million Military Occupation Costs Soar.

President Donald Trump has spent an astonishing half a billion dollars deploying active-duty troops and National Guard members to six US cities, sparking outrage over the unprecedented militarization of American neighborhoods.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on Wednesday revealing that these deployments have cost taxpayers $496 million in 2025 alone. However, if current domestic deployments continue, the total expenditure could exceed $1 billion this year. The D.C. occupation is projected to exceed $660 million by December.

These deployments are aimed at quelling dissent, assisting anti-immigration efforts, protecting federal buildings and personnel, or addressing crime. In Chicago, troops were tasked with rousting homeless individuals from parks, cleaning up graffiti, and even battling a non-existent Venezuelan gang. In Memphis, they paint over tags in the city's public art scene.

Critics argue that these deployments are a stark example of authoritarianism, with Trump using the military to intimidate Americans in their own neighborhoods. "Our military budget is not a slush fund for the President to carry out his political stunts," said Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). "The very same Americans he expects to foot the bill for these deployments must end immediately."

Trump has previously threatened to surge troops into other cities, including Baltimore, New York City, Oakland, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Seattle, despite falling crime rates and pushback from local officials.

According to The Intercept's estimates based on data from the National Priorities Project, Trump's urban occupations have cost approximately $473 million in 2025. Hanna Homestead of the National Priorities Project stated that "They are spending billions to militarize our streets while cutting food aid, healthcare, social services, and labor and environmental protections – at a time of unparalleled wealth inequality."

As The Intercept continues its coverage of Trump's assault on democracy, it relies on the support of members like you. Join us in expanding our reporting capacity to hit the ground running in 2026.
 
this is just getting outta hand 🤯 $500 million for a bunch of cities? what's next, sending troops to gentrifying neighborhoods or something? and meanwhile they're cutting food aid and healthcare for actual people who need it 🤕 it's like the US government has officially gone off the deep end. i'm not surprised though, trump's always been all about using the military as a tool for his own ego trips 💸 can't say i'm shocked he's trying to intimidate americans with tanks in their neighborhoods either. this is just more proof that trump doesn't care about anything except himself 🙄
 
I'm low-key freaking out about this 🤯 $500 million is a lot of cash to be pouring into the military occupation of US cities. It's crazy that Trump is using troops to quell dissent and address crime, like they're some kind of private security contractors 🚫. I get that cities are having issues with homelessness and graffiti, but deploying active-duty troops is just not the answer 🤦‍♀️.

And let's be real, it's not like these deployments are even making a dent in the problems they're trying to solve. Meanwhile, local officials and residents are speaking out against this blatant authoritarianism, saying that Trump is using the military to intimidate Americans in their own neighborhoods 🚫.

I'm also thinking about the budget, fam 💸 $496 million just for 2025? That's a lot of taxpayer dollars being funneled into the military instead of, I don't know, social services or healthcare or something 🤷‍♀️. It's all just so extra 💁‍♀️.
 
omg u guys i cant even rn 😱 this is insane $500 million for troops in cities just to quell dissent and paint over graffiti 🎨 meanwhile theyre cutting social services and healthcare 🤕 what a waste of taxpayer money 💸 and trump's all about using the military to intimidate ppl in their own neighborhoods thats straight up authoritarianism 👮‍♂️ like senator elizabeth warren said our military budget is not a slush fund for his political stunts 🤑 we need to keep an eye on this and demand better policies from our leaders 💪
 
ugh this is getting outta hand 🤯 what's next? deploying troops to keep an eye on your lawn? 🌳 i get that crime and safety are concerns but using the military to deal with it feels like a massive overreaction 🚫 $500 million already? that's insane 💸 and now they're gonna blow past $1 billion? 🤑 how about we focus on community policing and mental health support instead of calling in the tanks 🤝
 
I mean, come on... $500 million? It's like they're trying to put a price tag on people's lives or something 🤑. I'm not saying I don't agree with Trump's views on immigration and crime, but does it have to be done this way? Deploying troops to cities just to 'assist' in cleaning up graffiti and whatnot... sounds like a whole lotta unnecessary drama 💁‍♀️. And $1 billion by the end of the year? That's just wild 🤯. I'm all for keeping our communities safe, but can't we find a more peaceful way to do it? Or better yet, get some community policing programs going? Something that doesn't involve putting American citizens on notice that they're being 'occupied'... 😕
 
OMG u guys!!! 🤯 $500 MILLION is insane 💸 for deploying troops in US cities?!? It's like he's trying to turn America into a dystopian movie or something 😱 Like, what even is the point of all this militarization?!? Are we really that afraid of our own neighbors?!? The fact that they're being used to roust homeless people from parks and clean graffiti is just sickening 🤢. And don't even get me started on Hanna Homestead's comment about cutting food aid, healthcare, social services... it's like Trump is literally trying to starve us all out of our rights 🍴😱. Can we please just take back our country from this authoritarian nightmare?!? 😩
 
I'm totally not buying this whole "keeping the peace" excuse for deploying half a billion dollars worth of troops into American cities... 🤔 Like, what's next? Sending in SWAT teams to mediate community disputes over lawn sizes? 😂 The real issue here is that Trump is using our military to silence dissent and quash free speech. I mean, what about the 1st Amendment when you've got active-duty troops standing around, making sure nobody gets too rowdy at a protest? 🚫 It's just another example of how our government is willing to sacrifice civil liberties for the sake of "law and order". And let's not forget that we're already paying billions in military spending while cutting essential social services... it's like, what's the real cost here? 💸
 
Ugh, this is getting outta hand 💸👮‍♂️ I mean, come on, a half billion bucks just for Trump's ego trip? 🤦‍♂️ It's like he thinks we're living in some bad 80s action movie where the President gets to be the hero and everyone else is the villain 🎥. Newsflash, Donald: it doesn't work that way, buddy 😒. And what's with all these cities? Can't he just leave them alone? 🤷‍♂️ Chicago cleaning up graffiti? That's not some kind of urban intervention, that's just... basic neighborhood cleanup 🧹. I'm no fan of Trump's antics, but this is ridiculous 💥. We need to take a stand against authoritarianism and demand our tax dollars be used for the people, not just the President's PR stunt 🤝
 
omg 🤯 $500 million is just crazy 💸 this is getting out of hand 🚫 can't believe trump is using tax payer money for this 🤑 so many ppl being hurt because of his decisions 😔 police brutality & systemic racism are real problems we need to address them in a peaceful way 🕊️ not with tanks & troops 🚫
 
Ugh, this is getting out of hand 🤯. I mean, can't we just have a conversation without the military showing up? It's like they're trying to control everything. $500 million for what? So people can't graffiti on walls or hang out in parks? And what's with all these cities getting targeted? Baltimore and NYC are already having enough issues. We need to focus on the real problems, not just create more ones. And btw, has anyone checked how much that food aid gets cut from? 🤔
 
🤔 this is getting crazy, dude... I mean, what's next? We gotta keep an eye on this, if they're gonna start policing their own neighborhoods, that's some serious overreach 🚫. I'm not saying Trump's a bad guy or anything, but come on, $500 million for troops in cities? That's like, insane 💸. And the fact that they're using it to clean up graffiti and deal with homeless people... what's the real reason behind this, you think? 🤷‍♂️
 
omg $500 million is insane what's next? they're gonna start charging rent on american streets meanwhile ppl are struggling to afford food and housing this is straight outta some dystopian movie where the gov is more concerned with crushing dissent than actual public service like, what's the deal with chicago having troops cleaning up graffiti and chasing homeless people? isn't that just basic civic engagement or somethin?
 
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 🚫💔

I think it's insane how much money is being wasted on this. Like, what's the point of putting troops in cities for cleaning graffiti? It just seems like another excuse for Trump to show off his power and control. We need to start questioning where our tax dollars are going and making sure that politicians aren't abusing their authority. This isn't democracy, it's authoritarianism plain and simple 🤯
 
ugh this is getting outta hand ... $500 million just for 6 cities and we got more cities on the list... dont even get me started on chicago where troops were sendin homeless people away lolol what kinda "urban occupation" is that?? theyre breakin the law by puttin military in public spaces... cost taxpayers like $496 million already this year and its just gonna keep goin up 🤯💸
 
🤯 $500M? 🤑 That's insane! I mean, we're talking about deploying active-duty troops and National Guard members into neighborhoods for graffiti removal and homeless sweeps... it just doesn't add up. And what's next? Sending the military to break up protests or enforce curfews? It feels like a power grab to me.

I get that crime is a concern, but isn't there a better way to address it without militarizing our streets? And who do we think these troops are really protecting - themselves or us, the taxpayers? 🤑 We need to be careful about where we draw the line between maintaining order and trampling on civil liberties.

I'm not buying that Trump's doing this for "our safety" - it sounds like a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissenting voices. The fact that local officials are pushing back against these deployments is telling: they know something's not right here. 🚨
 
omg this is getting out of hand!!! 🤯 i'm literally dying over here thinking about all those troops in my city 😩 but like, what's next?!?! are we gonna have tanks rolling down main street?!?! 😂 seriously though, $1 billion? that's insane! we need to take a stand and demand our money back!!! 💸👊 can you believe trump is using our tax dollars to paint over tags in memphis?!?! 🤣 what kind of crazy is that?!?! i'm so down to support the intercept's reporting, let's get more eyes on this and make some noise!!! 🔥
 
omg this is insane! 🤯 $1 billion in just one year?! and for what? So trump can say he's tough on crime and anti-immigration? please. these deployments are a joke. he's basically deploying private security forces to "keep the peace" but really he's just gonna use them to silence dissenting voices and intimidate ppl into submission. i mean, what's next? deploying tanks in chicago and seattle?! 🚨👮‍♂️ it's like he thinks americans are some kinda primitive tribe that needs to be kept under wraps. no way, dude. we need more transparency and less militarization. this is what happens when a bunch of billionaires with delusions of grandeur get elected...
 
😔 this is so messed up what does trump want exactly? his policies are hurting so many people and now he's using the military to quell dissent that's just not right. the fact that he's spending half a billion dollars on it is crazy like, where's that money going? it should be going towards helping people, not just making some politicians look good 🤑
 
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