Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon apparently isn’t feeling the same affordability struggles as many average Americans, as he approved spending more than $93 billion in September, including on luxury food items and iPads.
A new analysis published by government watchdog Open the Books found that in September — the end of the 2025 fiscal year — Hegseth reportedly burned through cash, including spending $9 million on crab and lobster dinners.
According to Military.com, an increase in military officials eating pricey meals has traditionally been viewed as a sign that something may be brewing — such as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran — though it appears Hegseth has been dining well at the Pentagon since at least last spring.
The spending review found that in the month of September alone, the Defense Department spent $6.9 million in total on lobster tail and $2 million on Alaskan king crab, according to the government watchdog. In 2025, the department also spent more than $7.4 million on lobster tail across the months of March, May, June and October.
The decadent seafood wasn't the only expensive sustenance purchased at the Pentagon. Hegseth also spent approximately $15.1 million on ribeye steak in September, $124,000 for new ice cream machines, and $139,224 on doughnut orders.
Due to the way federal funding works, there is pressure on department heads to end their fiscal years without a surplus of funds. If they do, it raises questions in Congress as to whether or not the agency or department needs a reduction in its annual budget.
That said, some of the purchases are lavish. In September, Hegseth spent nearly $100,000 on a Steinway & Sons grand piano to outfit the home of the Air Force chief of staff. He also spent $5.3 million on Apple devices, including brand-new iPads, according to the report.
open image in galleryThe Pentagon paid $225.6 million for furniture, including $12,540 for fruit basket stands and more than $60,000 for recliners from high-end furniture maker Herman Miller.
The agency spent more money on furniture in 2025 than it has since 2014.
To be fair to Hegseth, the military has been spending enormous amounts of money on furniture for decades. According to the analysis, the Defense Department has spent an average of $257.6 million on furniture every September since 2008, marking a 564 percent increase above its typical furniture spending throughout the year.
And Hegseth isn’t actually the worst offender; former President Barack Obama routinely spent between $300-$400 million on furniture in September during his years in office, according to the report. Spending on furniture decreased under President Joe Biden, though it's worth noting his first two years saw many federal employees working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Pentagon's most expensive spending spree during September was on grants and contracts. In that month alone, the Defense Department spent more than $90 billion on grants and contracts.
In the last five working days of September alone, the report says the department spent $50.1 billion on grants and contracts, more than the annual defence budgets of countries such as Israel and Italy.
open image in gallery“Under Secretary Hegseth, the Pentagon has consistently said its mission is to refocus on warfighting and lethality,” Open the Books CEO John Hart said in the analysis. “Last year, we highlighted the problem of wasteful use-it-or-lose-it year-end spending. We noted that this reform is fully within the secretary’s control and is a historic opportunity to make good on that promise.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom drew attention to the Pentagon's spending in a social media post featuring an AI-generated image of Hegseth kicking back in a posh recliner surrounded by a grand piano, numerous iPads, and plates filled with lobster tail and steak.
“HEGSETH BLOWING $93 BILLION OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS IN 1 MONTH !!” the post said.
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat, said she planned to launch an investigation into Hegseth’s spending.
“In addition to billions of taxpayer dollars being burned in this war in Iran, reports are showing that Sec. Pete Hegseth blew $93 billion in federal DOD funding at the end of last year,” she wrote on social media before listing his various expenditures. “You better believe we’ll be investigating.”
Democratic Congressman Chuck Schumer called Hegseth a “grifter” on social media.
“Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS. But instead of lowering Americans’ healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano,” he wrote. “A true grifter in every sense of the word.”
open image in galleryThe Independent has requested comment from the Department of Defense.
In February 2025, Hegseth said he welcomed a “Department of Government Efficiency” review of defense spending to help him find ways to reduce waste.
“We need to know when we spend dollars, we need to know where they’re going and why that simple accounting, and that has not existed at the Defense Department,” Hegseth told Fox News at the time. “We’re going to fix that.”
The Pentagon's spending spree came just weeks before millions of Americans lost access to their SNAP food benefits, leaving the states to fill in the gaps.
Now, six months later, Americans are learning the astronomical cost of Trump and Hegseth's war in Iran.
The U.S. military has used an estimated $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the opening two days of the war with Iran, according to government officials who spoke to The Washington Post.
Trump has insisted that the war in Iran — which has already killed seven U.S. service members and injured around 140 others — will be over quickly, but has provided no timeline or plan of action indicating that the U.S. is preparing to withdraw from the conflict.
