Donald Trump's 'Stop the Steal' campaign cost US taxpayers $695m - report

Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election has left US taxpayers with a bill topping half a billion dollars, The Washington Post reports. Photo / AP

Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election has left US taxpayers with a bill topping US$500,000 ($695.6m)

According to the Washington Post, at least US$488m has been spent by the federal government and another US$28m by states in dealing with the January 6 siege of the US Capitol and stepping up security in its aftermath.

And an avalanche of unsuccessful court cases brought by the "Stop the Steal" campaign has run up a legal bill exceeding US$2.2m.

An estimated 25,000 troops were deployed in Washington DC after the uprising at the Capitol, which claimed five lives. With plans to maintain the security measures until mid-March, the bill is likely to increase further.

Donald Trump is accused of whipping his supporters into a frenzy with claims of election fraud before they stormed the Capitol. Photo / AP

A "ring of steel" will be in place this week as the Senate embarks on Trump's second impeachment trial, at which he is accused of inciting insurrection, opens tomorrow.

Bruce Castor, who will lead Trump's defence team, said: "When you have the president of the United States give a speech and says you should peacefully make your thinking known to the people in Congress, he's all of a sudden a villain."

An estimated 25,000 troops were deployed in Washington DC after the uprising at the US Capitol, which claimed five lives. Photo / AP

Trump is accused of whipping his supporters into a frenzy with claims of election fraud before they stormed the Capitol.

But one of the former president's most loyal supporters, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, said it was for history to judge Trump's role in the riots - not the Senate.

"I think I'm ready to move on, I'm ready to end the impeachment trial because I think it's blatantly unconstitutional," he said on Face the Nation.

Meanwhile, Liz Cheney, the senior Republican congresswoman who was censured by her party for backing impeachment, defended her stance.

"We are the party of Lincoln, we are not the party of QAnon or anti-Semitism or Holocaust-deniers or white supremacy or conspiracy theories. That's not who we are," Cheney said on Fox News Sunday.