The ramp-up at Joint Forces Training Base and the training of hundreds of Marines at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, along with other costs associated with the ICE federal initiative, cost approximately $120 million, the Governor’s Office announced this week.
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that President Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Los Angeles amounted to costly political theater, saddling taxpayers with a nearly $120 million bill.
According to the Governor’s Office, the cost estimates include tallies provided by the California National Guard about costs incurred since June, when Trump sent more than 4,200 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles.
Itemized, the totals include $71 million for food and other basic necessities, $37 million in payroll, $4 million in logistic supplies, $3.5 million in travel and $1.5 million in demobilization costs, Newsom’s office said.
Most of the soldiers were sent home in August, although 300 remain at Joint Forces Training Base.“Let us not forget what this political theater is costing us all — millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain and an atrophy to the readiness of guard members across the nation and unnecessary hardships to the families supporting those troops,” Newsom said in a statement.
“Talking about waste, fraud, and abuse. We ask other states to do the math themselves,” said Newsom in the statement.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco barred troops from aiding in immigration arrests in a scathing opinion that amounted to a major win for California and other states critical of the Trump administration’s deployments.
Newsom filed a preliminary injunction after the ruling asking that the court block an order from the U.S. Secretary of Defense that extended the deployment of 300 National Guard members in Los Angeles until after the election in November.
Newsom filed a public records request to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in August asking for total expenses connected to the deployment of troops in Los Angeles. In that request, which is still pending, Newsom said most troops were “passing the days sitting idly without a clear mission, direction, or a timeline for returning to their communities.”
The totals released on Thursday were produced from a separate request to the California National Guard.
After troops arrived in Los Angeles, a massive tent city was erected at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Al, while others remained at the Westwood federal building, which was outfitted with sleeping and eating areas.
According to the Governor, calls poured into the GI Rights Hotline counseling service from distressed service members and their families, as some agonized over being sent to help with federal immigration raids that could result in loved ones being deported. Others told The Times that “there’s not much to do.”
A source familiar with the deployment at Los Al, said the cost of the 300 Guard service members will go up, since they will serve an additional 90 days, not 89. Once it reaches 90 days, service members are eligible for additional financial benefits, the source said.