From August 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Marshals Service identified over $18 million in taxpayer funded costs related to its deployment for the Trump administration’s federal takeover of D.C., according to records obtained by CREW through a lawsuit brought under the Freedom of Information Act. The marshals play several important roles, including providing security for judges, tracking down fugitives across the country and running the witness security program. The agency apparently pulled resources from district courts across the country, including in Guam and the Virgin Islands, to participate in the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.” 

The most significant cost was nearly $6 million pulled from USMS’ tactical operations division, the unit responsible for responding to high-threat and emergency situations. The agency also pulled over $3 million from its investigative operations division and over $2 million from the D.C. Superior Court, reducing the number of marshals providing security in a high profile courthouse in D.C. during a surge of threats against judges.

Bloomberg Law reported that more than 75 deputy marshals were deployed as part of the federal takeover of D.C., accounting for 2% of the agency’s roughly 3,900 deputy marshals and criminal investigators.

Emails obtained as part of the disclosure make clear that the initiative and marshals’ involvement in it was announced abruptly and had significant staffing implications. An email sent by a chief in the Tactical Operations Division on August 12 reads, “[a]s you may know the United States Marshals Service has been tasked to lead the federal effort to Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful. The span and control of the mission has now expanded to 24 hours and 16 agencies… At the direction of Director Serralta the on call IMT Team, TEAM-1 is required to report to the District of Columbia to manage the incident.” They conclude by saying “Travel will be tomorrow. Travel order will follow shortly.”

Around two weeks later, Stephanie Creasy, then-acting deputy director of USMS, emailed agency leaders about diverting resources from existing missions saying “this mission requires extensive staffing and a large support system to maintain its current level of efficacy in reducing violent crime Washington D.C., our nation’s Capital…I understand the challenges faced by districts and divisions with staffing and resources and I ask that you continue to support these initiatives and know that Director Serralta and I are working to address these challenges.” Creasy, who was later permanently appointed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, continued with effusive praise of the federal law enforcement takeover of DC, saying “This mission is incredibly important, it i[s] an innovative partnership on a scale we have never seen. It is highly successful and will be the standard for eradicating crime across the United States.”

The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, made up of over 3,100 officials from 28 agencies and led by USMS, claims to have made over 13,000 arrests since its creation last March. If those numbers are correct, that would mean it has arrested the equivalent of roughly 1 out of every 53 District residents. 

The USMS deployment costs add to the reported $332 million in National Guard deployment costs associated with the takeover estimated to have accumulated by the end of February. CREW sued for records from 12 federal agencies involved in the initiative to provide the public with the full cost of the unprecedented deployment. These records from USMS are only part of the picture and are only an initial response as part of CREW’s ongoing litigation.

Since fiscal year 2025, there have been over 800 threats made against federal judges. Despite this record number and ongoing personal attacks from lawmakers and executive branch officials, the Trump administration has redirected resources away from judges’ security, reportedly worsening staffing shortages that slow down court processes as a result of hearings being cancelled, postponed or moved online. Rather than use taxpayer dollars for the Marshals Service’s purpose of protecting the federal judiciary, the Trump administration has instead pursued an initiative that undermines DC’s sovereignty and intimidates its residents. 

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