Politics

DC Security Costs To Total Nearly $1 Billion By March 15, Pentagon Estimates

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Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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The Defense Department estimates it will cost $483 million to keep up enhanced security measures in the U.S. capital through March 15 in addition to $500 million it has already spent, Fox News reported Monday.

The Pentagon deployed roughly 26,000 National Guard troops to the Capitol in the wake of the January 6th Capitol Riots to secure President Joe Biden’s inauguration. While the number has wound down, there are still more than 7,000 troops guarding the Capitol building. The Guard plans to gradually decrease its presence through the end of March, at which point fewer than 3,000 troops will be present, according to Fox News.

The expenditure since January 6th was already nearing $500 million at the start of February,

The troops were initially ordered to the capital after a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. The Pentagon drastically ramped up troop presence ahead of Biden’s inauguration, encamping U.S. soldiers in the Capitol Rotunda for the first time since the Civil War. (RELATED: REPORT: National Guard Had Zero Confrontations With Protesters During Biden Inauguration)

The Capitol Hill police have called for more permanent security around the Capitol building following the Jan 6 capitol riot. Some lawmakers have shuddered at the idea of locking out the public from the Capitol building, which has been easily accessible to Americans for most of the nation’s history.

D.C. Rep. Eleanor Norton, who sits in Congress but cannot vote on legislation, proposed a bill on Monday that would ban the construction of permanent fencing around the Capitol.