Lobster Tails, Crab, Steinway Piano: Pentagon’s Year-End Spending Spree Raises Eyebrows
The Pentagon is facing fresh scrutiny after a watchdog analysis found the Defense Department spent millions of dollars on high-end food purchases at the end of the 2025 fiscal year — though analysts say the spending surge follows a long-standing pattern across administrations.
BIG SPENDERSThe nonprofit watchdog group Open the Books reviewed Pentagon contracting data for September 2025, the final month of the federal fiscal year, when agencies often accelerate spending to avoid losing unused funds under "use it or lose it" rules.
According to the report, the Defense Department spent $93.4 billion on contracts and grants in September alone, the largest monthly total tracked by the group since at least 2008.
SURF AND TURF: The Pentagon spent about $15 million on ribeye steak and nearly $7 million on lobster tail in September, along with $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $1 million on salmon, and nearly $140,000 on doughnuts.
The department bought $124,000 worth of ice cream machines and $26,000 in sushi prep tables
LUXURIES AND OTHER EXPENSES: The DoD also spent $1.8 million on musical instruments, including a $98,329 Steinway piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, $5.9 billion on IT and telecommunications — including $2.4 billion on laptops and software — and $225.6 million on furniture.
MORE CONTEXT: The Pentagon's spending on some items, like furniture, is actually lower than what it was during the Obama administration, in which the military spent $300 to $400 million every September.
In the final five working days of the month, the department spent $50.1 billion — more than the entire annual defense budgets of some U.S. allies, like Israel.
Last year’s spending is drawing renewed scrutiny after the Trump administration pushed federal spending cuts through its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
COMMUNITY NOTES
Mo News community members shared their reactions to the Pentagon’s purchases and the “use it or lose it” budget policy. ⬇️
