The National Guard is preparing for its fall training programs, but Donald Trump’s deployments are eating into its operational budget

The National Guard is feeling the cost of Donald Trump’s insistence on using National Guard troops to carry out his expansive immigration roundups and policing actions in Washington, D.C.

National Guard Major General Greg Porter, based in Wyoming, told the state’s lawmakers during a meeting of the Joint Transportation Highways & Military Affairs Committee that the costs of Trump’s National Guard deployments are still unknown, but they’re no doubt eating into the branch’s funds, according to WyoFile.

Porter said that the costs of prolonged deployments will eat into funding intended for things like training and operations.

  • ansiz@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    1 day ago

    I thought the idea was that Trump wasn’t paying them? As in that’s the point, the Federal government is forcing the states to foot the bill as a sign of fealty.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 day ago

      Even if that’s the case, these are largely states that are in the red financially. They may be fine throwing national guard money at DC, LA, and their blue cities, but wait till it hits them in the basic functions.

      Military deployment is expensive, and state budgets weren’t written with the idea that the national guard was going to spend the bulk of the current administration deployed

      • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        1 day ago

        Exactly. It’s easy to say “make the states pay for it” until the states start pulling from their primary services to fund it.

        Oh, you need to renew your car registration? Too bad, because the DMV is only open one day a week now, and they’re by appointment only. The earliest appointment you can get is six months from now. But at least we have boots on the ground, right?

        • ansiz@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          23 hours ago

          I agree, but that really is the point. Strain government services so they are shit, then use that as an excuse to privatize it as much as possible and funnel the funding to the oligarchs.