A new Pentagon budget report revealed that Pete Hegseth's Department of Defense burned through $93 billion in September 2025 alone — the biggest single-month spend since 2008.
A report by watchdog group Open the Books found the department rushed to spend huge amounts of its budget before the fiscal year ended — a common “use-it-or-lose-it” practice where agencies risk losing unused funds.
But critics say many of the purchases went far beyond normal military needs.
Among the expenses highlighted were:
• $225 million on furniture, including $12,000 fruit basket stands and over $60,000 worth of Herman Miller recliners
• $98,329 Steinway grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home
• $15.1 million on ribeye steaks in a single month
• $6.9 million on lobster tail and $2 million on Alaskan king crab
• $5.3 million on Apple devices like iPads
• $124,000 on ice cream machines
• $139,224 on doughnuts
In the final five days of September alone, the Pentagon spent $50.1 billion on grants and contracts — more than the entire annual military budgets of countries like Canada and Mexico combined.
The spending spree has sparked criticism as it comes amid a $1.8 trillion U.S. deficit and after millions of Americans lost food assistance during a government shutdown.
A new Pentagon budget report revealed that Pete Hegseth's Department of Defense burned through $93 billion in September 2025 alone — the biggest single-month spend since 2008.
A report by watchdog group Open the Books found the department rushed to spend huge amounts of its budget before the fiscal year ended — a common “use-it-or-lose-it” practice where agencies risk losing unused funds.
But critics say many of the purchases went far beyond normal military needs.
Among the expenses highlighted were:
• $225 million on furniture, including $12,000 fruit basket stands and over $60,000 worth of Herman Miller recliners
• $98,329 Steinway grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home
• $15.1 million on ribeye steaks in a single month
• $6.9 million on lobster tail and $2 million on Alaskan king crab
• $5.3 million on Apple devices like iPads
• $124,000 on ice cream machines
• $139,224 on doughnuts
In the final five days of September alone, the Pentagon spent $50.1 billion on grants and contracts — more than the entire annual military budgets of countries like Canada and Mexico combined.
The spending spree has sparked criticism as it comes amid a $1.8 trillion U.S. deficit and after millions of Americans lost food assistance during a government shutdown.
