Trending Now - Pete Hegseth Faces Criticism for Lavish Seafood Spending
WHO:
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Gavin Newsom, Governor of California
Open the Books, government spending watchdog
Trump, President of the United States
WHAT:
The Pentagon spent $93.4 billion in September 2025, the largest single-month total ever recorded by any federal agency.
The spending included $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $6.9 million on lobster tail, and $15.1 million on rib-eye steak.
Additional expenditures included $124,000 for ice cream machines, $5.3 million on Apple devices, and $98,329 on a Steinway & Sons grand piano.
The Pentagon also spent $1 million on salmon, $139,224 on doughnuts, $26,000 on sushi preparation tables, and $21,750 on a custom handmade Japanese flute.
Open the Books criticized the spending as misplaced priorities amid heightened global security tensions.
WHERE:
Pentagon, United States
WHEN:
September 2025, the final month of the fiscal year
The fiscal year deadline is September 30th.
WHY:
The spending surge is attributed to the "use-it-or-lose-it" budget deadline, which requires government agencies to use their annual discretionary funding by the end of the fiscal year or return unspent money to the U.S. Treasury.
Open the Books stated that the spending reflects a need for Congress to reconsider the one-year deadline governing federal spending.
HOW:
The Pentagon's spending was characterized as a frantic end-of-year spending spree to utilize its immense funding.
(UPDATED March 11, 2026 23:07 UTC)
In a record-setting month, the Pentagon spent an astonishing $93.4 billion in September 2025, marking the largest single-month total ever recorded by any federal agency. This spending spree included extravagant purchases such as $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $6.9 million on lobster tail, and even $139,224 on doughnuts, prompting criticism from the government spending watchdog Open the Books, which called the expenditures misplaced amid rising global security tensions. The surge in spending is attributed to the "use-it-or-lose-it" budget deadline, which requires agencies to utilize their annual discretionary funding by the end of the fiscal year or risk returning unspent money to the Treasury.