- Trump spent the weeks after the election alleging massive electoral fraud.
- His attempts to reverse the results have cost taxpayers more than $ 519 million so far.
- More than $ 488 million went to Capitol security, while another $ 30 million went to state costs.
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Former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election by spreading unsubstantiated allegations of mass electoral fraud has cost taxpayers more than $ 519 million, revealed an analysis by The Washington Post.
The Post accounted for the cost of analyzing local, state and federal spending records and interviewing government officials. Costs include attorney fees, costs of damage to the Capitol siege in January, military and security expenses, and more.
Not long after the election was declared a victory for President Joe Biden, Trump falsely claimed that there was massive electoral fraud, saying, without any evidence, that the election was stolen.
Trump and his Republican allies spent the weeks leading up to Biden’s inauguration filing dozens of lawsuits in undecided states, trying to overturn the results, delay certification or reject votes. They failed to win any of them.
In all, states spent $ 2.2 million on legal and security challenges to election officials, the Post concluded.
Pennsylvania, for example, paid outside lawyers up to $ 480 an hour to work against Trump’s electoral fraud cases.
In a “Save America” demonstration just before Congress started certifying the electoral vote on January 6, Trump told a crowd of supporters to march to the Capitol and continued to plead massive electoral fraud. He also falsely claimed that Congress and Vice President Mike Pence could “cancel certification” of the election results and give him another term.
Not long after his speech, supporters violated the US Capitol and clashed with officials. The riot resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer.
The House of Representatives impeached Trump for “inciting insurrection” for his role in the riot. The Senate will hold an impeachment trial next week.
The riot led to a demand for greater security around lawmakers and the Capitol before the impeachment trial.
National Guard troops were sent to Washington, DC, after the attack and some will remain there until mid-March. The Post reported that the cost of this is at least $ 480 million. In addition, in the week of the attack, the DC Metropolitan Police spent $ 8.8 million protecting the Capitol.
The costs for repairing Capitol to clean up the damage from the attack, the cost for the US Park Police to clean up the National Mall and the costs for additional personnel, overtime and Capitol Police medical bills are also unknown.
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Members of Congress are also using their publicly funded Member Representation Grants, which come from taxpayer money, to secure personal protection resources, from bulletproof vests to private security details and surveillance cameras, the Post reported. .
Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman last month proposed to permanently maintain the fence that was installed around the Capitol building after the January 6 riot.
The measure drew resistance from local authorities, but if it were implemented, in addition to being approved by the Capitol Police Council, the House and Senate would also have to approve appropriate funds to fortify the building.
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So far, states have also spent $ 28 million on security related to the insurrection and inauguration, the Post reported.
Costs included protecting their own parliaments after the attack on the Capitol. For example, state officials in California spent about $ 19 million deploying the National Guard and state troops to the state capitol and elsewhere between January 14 and 21, the Post reported.
In Texas and North Carolina, taxpayers paid for helicopters to monitor possible protests and, in cities like Lansing, Michigan, and Olympia, Washington, paid for temporary fences and extra security details for state lawmakers who attended legislative sessions.