Full Analysis Summary
Costs of city troop deployments
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told Sen. Jeff Merkley that President Trump’s deployments of National Guard troops (and some active-duty Marines) to several U.S. cities cost about $496 million from June through December 2025, and the agency estimated that maintaining similar deployments would cost roughly $93 million per month — a pace that would exceed $1.1 billion in 2026 if continued.
The CBO’s estimate includes direct and indirect activation and sustainment costs and covers deployments to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Portland and Chicago.
This central finding underpins recent coverage and is the core fiscal figure driving debate over the deployments’ scale and purpose.
Coverage Differences
Tone and emphasis
CNN (Western Mainstream) frames the figure mainly as a CBO estimate relayed to Sen. Jeff Merkley and notes Merkley’s criticism of the deployments as "wasteful and politically motivated," emphasizing the political dispute. Al Jazeera (West Asian) emphasizes the CBO’s estimate alongside troop counts and city-by-city totals, presenting a more operational and numeric account. OregonLive (Other) does not provide article text and therefore contributes no reporting on the figure, representing a coverage gap rather than a competing view.
City-by-city cost breakdown
Al Jazeera’s reporting provides the most detailed city-by-city breakdown.
Washington, D.C. was the costliest operation at roughly $232 million total, peaking at about 2,950 troops and costing an estimated $55 million per month to maintain.
Los Angeles accounted for about $193 million total after a June activation of more than 4,900 personnel.
Smaller totals are reported for Memphis, Portland and Chicago with varying troop peaks and operational timelines.
CNN’s story lists the same cities covered by the CBO estimate but emphasizes the aggregate $496 million and the monthly $93 million continuation figure rather than the full city totals.
Those differences shape whether coverage centers on the headline national cost or the local distribution of troop spending.
Coverage Differences
Missed information / level of detail
Al Jazeera (West Asian) supplies granular city totals and troop peaks for Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Memphis, Portland and Chicago, including maintenance-month estimates and the note that some operations continued while others wound down. CNN (Western Mainstream) mentions the same set of cities in summarizing the CBO estimate but foregrounds the overall cost and the projected monthly continuation figure rather than granular local totals. OregonLive (Other) again has no content to compare, highlighting an absence of reporting in that source.
Troop levels and costs
Beyond headline totals, the reports highlight shifting troop levels and legal uncertainty that altered costs.
Al Jazeera notes that troop levels initially exceeded 10,000 but fluctuated amid legal challenges, leaving just over 5,000 activated at year-end, and it flags that future costs are highly uncertain.
CNN likewise reports the CBO's monthly continuation estimate and stresses the breakdown of cost categories (direct, indirect, operational, logistical, and sustainment).
Those emphases paint different pictures: one stresses operational scale and changing force posture, while the other emphasizes fiscal accounting and debate over whether the deployments were appropriate or politically driven.
Coverage Differences
Narrative / focus
Al Jazeera (West Asian) foregrounds troop counts and legal challenges, noting both the initial more-than-10,000 deployments and the reduction to just over 5,000 by year-end and stating future costs are "highly uncertain." CNN (Western Mainstream) frames the story around the CBO’s cost accounting and projected monthly and annualized figures and explains the categories of costs included, including operational and sustainment expenses. OregonLive (Other) provides no reporting to compare.
National Guard Deployment Costs
The CBO’s per-capita-style metrics and maintenance estimates provide another lens on deployment costs.
Al Jazeera reports the agency’s estimate that deploying 1,000 National Guard personnel to an average U.S. city would cost roughly $18-$21 million per month, which helps explain why Washington, D.C.’s larger troop presence drives a disproportionate share of the total cost.
CNN’s reporting complements that by listing the cost categories the CBO included, underscoring that the headline number aggregates varied expense types rather than a single wage or transport line item.
Together the accounts show how unit-cost estimates and aggregated accounting lead to differing emphases in coverage and policy arguments.
Coverage Differences
Narrative emphasis / technical detail
Al Jazeera (West Asian) highlights the CBO’s per-1,000-personnel monthly cost estimate ($18–$21 million), offering a unit-cost perspective that clarifies why larger city deployments escalate totals. CNN (Western Mainstream) emphasizes the composition of the CBO’s aggregated estimate — "direct and indirect costs" and operational sustainment — pointing readers to what the headline number includes. OregonLive (Other) again lacks a substantive report to contribute details.
Media framing and coverage gaps
Political framing and reporting gaps matter for how the story is interpreted.
CNN highlights Merkley's use of the CBO analysis to criticize the deployments as "wasteful and politically motivated," placing the CBO number in the context of congressional politics.
Al Jazeera reports additional context, including that President Trump reportedly planned to keep D.C. forces through the end of 2026 and that operations in some cities were wound down.
OregonLive's lack of an available article contrasts with these accounts and underscores that not all outlets have published detailed coverage or that the text was not provided in the material supplied here.
Coverage Differences
Tone / narrative framing
CNN (Western Mainstream) foregrounds the political reaction to the CBO’s figure, quoting Sen. Merkley’s critique and framing the estimate as part of a partisan dispute. Al Jazeera (West Asian) adds operational and administrative context such as Trump’s reported plan to keep some forces in place and which city operations continued or were wound down. OregonLive (Other) supplies no substantive article text in the provided snippet, creating a reporting gap to be aware of when comparing coverage.