Pentagon declines to provide cost estimate on border deployment

The Pentagon, which forecasts costs for everything from complex weapon systems development to the amount of fuel the military will consume annually, is declining to provide a public cost estimate for the ongoing deployment of 5,800 troops to the southwestern border of the United States.

Approximately 5,800 active-duty troops are deployed in Texas, Arizona and California, according to Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning. The forces were sent there by President Trump in late October to deter a migrant “caravan” from attempting to cross the U.S. border.

Last week, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited some of the troops deployed to the border. He declined to provide a cost estimate during the trip, as he said units are tasked with compiling the costs associated with their deployment.

"We can estimate costs all we want, I'd prefer to give you real costs," Mattis told reporters on the Nov. 14 trip.

Today, during a press gaggle at the Pentagon, Manning also declined to provide a cost estimate. He said the deployed units are still compiling costs, such as fuel and transferring equipment.  

Asked if the Pentagon was declining to provide a cost estimate to Congress, too, Manning said, "We keep Congress informed. There are things we discuss with Congress in a classified setting to make sure we keep them abreast. As far as a final cost for deployment of troops to the southwest border, we do not have that figure. I've seen numbers out there, but we don't have a final cost that we're confident in sharing publicly."

Trump has said he will deploy up to 15,000 troops to the border if necessary. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported a deployment of that size could cost $200 million.

While a public cost estimate is unavailable, the Pentagon has detailed numbers on the length of wire obstacles troops have installed along the border -- 11,426 meters in Texas, 2,714 meters in Arizona and 4,145 meters in California, according to Manning.

He said the active-duty deployment will last through Dec. 15, "unless we're directed otherwise."

"At some point in time when the work is done, we'll start downsizing some capability or shift capability elsewhere on the border," Manning said. "The bottom line is our numbers will be commensurate with the capabilities that [the Department of Homeland Security] is requesting."