VIDEO: Peters Presses Defense Department Officials on Cost and Impact of National Guard Deployments to U.S. Cities

WASHINGTON,DC– During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) pressed Department of Defense (DOD) officials on the rationale, cost, and local impact of carrying out President Trump’s orders to deploy the National Guard to American cities, including Washington, D.C. Peters pressed Mark R. Ditlevson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs, on how the Administration has spent more than $410 million in taxpayer money on the National Guard deployments, rather than invest those funds in local law enforcement.
“National Guard deployments to American cities by this Administration have cost taxpayers a little over $410 million so far, with the stated mission of restoring law and order and reducing crime,”said Peters.“The federal government, however, already has some really effective ways of bolstering public safety now, such as Department of Justice’s COPS Hiring Program, which puts highly trained professional, full-time police officers into the community, helping those communities that in particular need additional help.”
Peters continued, “The $410 million dollars spent over the past four months of Guard deployments... we would be able to hire 9,366 local, trained police officers who know their communities, have local trust, and are often part of their communities because they live there as well.”

To watch the full video of Senator Peters’ questioning, clickHERE.
Peters also highlighted that under the current National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C., several Guardsmen also serve as Metropolitan Police Officers, and have been pulled from their law enforcement work to carry out “beautification” of the city.
Peters said,“So, you’re taking D.C. police officers away from their duties to, in many instances, beautify the city by painting fences and picking up trash. Why would you take trained police officers off the streets in Washington, D.C., call them up to the Guard and say, ‘Now you can help beautify the city instead of being on the street fighting crime.’ Does that make any sense?”
“These are the kinds of things that show just how inefficient this is. You’ve got to be efficient. Taxpayer money is sacred. We have to protect our communities, but let’s do it in a smart way. Let’s not do it in a way that may make TV news. Let's do it in a way that actually helps people on the ground and keeps them safe,”Peters concluded.
Peters has long supported commonsense, effective solutions to decrease crime and keep our communities safe. In 2018, the bipartisanProject Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act of 2018that Peters helped lead was signed into law. The law authorized a nationwide law enforcement program focused on the reduction of violent crime using evidence-based and data-driven approaches. Peters again led the reauthorization of this program in2023. Peters has alsolong supported funding for the COPS Hiring Program, which has been proven to make sure local law enforcement agencies have the resources to hire officers with a focus on community-oriented policing.
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