National Guard deployment in LA cost nearly $120 million, Newsom says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) -- President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in early June, after days of protests over immigration raids, cost approximately $118 million, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

In a statement, the governor's office described the deployment as an "illegal" "stunt" conducted "under the guise of protecting federal facilities."

According to the news release, the deployment of more than 4,200 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines cost $71 million for food and other basic necessities, $37 million in payroll, more than $4 million in logistics supplies, $3.5 million in travel, and $1.5 million in demobilization costs.

"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 guardsmembers across the nation and unnecessary hardships to the families supporting those troops," Newsom said in a statement. "Talk about waste, fraud, and abuse. We ask other states to do the math themselves."

In August, Newsom's office filed a federal Freedom of Information Act requesting documents and records to identify the total expenses incurred to activate the Marines and federalize the National Guard since June 7, the governor's office said.

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Trump's administration "willfully" broke federal law by sending National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area.

In the 52-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco noted Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have stated their intention to deploy National Guard troops to other cities across the country, including Oakland and San Francisco, and that raises concerns they are "creating a national police force with the President as its chief."

Breyer did not require the 300 remaining soldiers to leave but pointed out they received improper training and ordered the administration to stop using them "to execute the laws." The order that applies only to California will take effect Sept. 12.

One day after a federal judge ruled that President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to L.A. during immigration protests was illegal, the administration filed a notice of appeal.

The White House indicated the government plans to appeal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.