Pete Hegseth blew millions in Pentagon cash on lobsters, steak, grand piano, and handmade Japanese flute
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth spent over $93 billion of taxpayer money last September; This includes huge expenditures on expensive food, musical instruments and technology.
The cash splash comes ahead of so-called ‘Amazon Prime Day’ as government agencies must spend the remainder of their annual budgets or lose funds by September 30.
According to the government watchdog, Hegseth’s “use it or lose it” spending on grants and contracts in September 2025 reached $93.4 billion; this was the most any institution spent in a month Open Books.
More than half of this amount ($50.1 billion) was distributed in the last five business days of the month alone.
The goal was to spend the remainder of the Pentagon’s $849.8 billion fiscal year budget set by the Biden administration.
Most of the money was spent on food, as the Pentagon purchased over $2 million in Alaskan king crabs in September alone..
They also spent $15.1 million on ribeye steaks, $6.9 million on lobster tails, $1 million on salmon and $26,000 on sushi preparation tables.
While Hegseth expressed his disgust with the ‘fat’ generals and soldiers in his department, the Pentagon did not spare desert expenses, including $124,000 for ice cream machines and $139,224 for donuts.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth spent more than $93 billion of taxpayers’ money on expensive food, musical instruments and technology last September
Most of the cash was spent on information technology and telecommunications; this amount was 5.9 billion dollars.
At least $5.3 million was spent at the Apple Store alone, including 400 new iPads for $315,200.
Foreign purchases include $98,329 of a Steinway grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff and $21,750 of Muramatsu’s custom-made flute.
Whatever the reason, the Pentagon seized $3,160 worth of stickers of children’s television characters such as Paw Patrol and Dora the Explorer.
Another major expense was the furnishings of the various facilities of the Ministry of Defense; That amount, totaling $225.6 million last September, was less than what the Obama administration regularly spent, but more than Joe Biden.
The biggest purchases included chairs from Herman Miller for $60,719, while another $12,540 was spent on fruit basket stands.
At least $6.6 billion was spent on foreign governments and companies, especially as Trump emphasized purchasing American products.
Total spending was up 18 percent from 2024, when the Pentagon spent $79.1 billion in September.
A Steinway grand piano worth $98,329 was among the foreigners’ purchases.
Pentagon spent $21,750 to buy a custom flute from Muramatsu
The money tracked does not include salaries of Pentagon employees and only tracks money given to outside organizations and governments.
Many liberals were angry at the spending; Gavin Newsom even claimed there was fraud.
‘Hey Nick Shirley… any ideas?’ he asked, referring to the conservative influencer investigating fraud committed by Minnesota daycare owners.
Mike Weily of Govly, which works with federal contractors on AI procurement, came up with the idea that September 30 every year is Washington’s ‘Amazon Prime Day’.
‘If a government agency does not spend its allocated budget funds during the financial year, they will no longer be able to access those funds next year,’ he said.
‘The loss of excess funds, combined with the threat of reduced future funding, is causing serious fear among government agencies. That’s why they hit the panic button in August and September to spend.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to both the Pentagon and the White House for comment.
This year the Pentagon has a budget of $839 billion passed by Congress.
Many liberals are angry about the spending, with Gavin Newsom even suggesting fraud
Whatever the reason, the Pentagon seized $3,160 worth of stickers of children’s television characters such as Paw Patrol and Dora the Explorer.
At least $5.3 million was spent at the Apple Store alone; This includes 400 new iPads for $315,200
Pentagon spending has been on the agenda recently following Donald Trump and Hegseth’s attacks on Iran.
The Trump administration is frequently pressured about the cost of these operations.
The War Department provided a breakdown of assets and targets for the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury; however, government officials did not disclose the exact cost of the military activity.
Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS, a bipartisan research agency in Washington, analyzed DOW fact sheets, Congressional Budget Office estimates and statements from government officials to provide an estimate of the operation’s wartime costs so far.
The study concluded that the United States spent approximately $3.7 billion on wartime efforts in the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury, or $891.4 million per day.
The most important expense comes from ammunition. CSIS estimated that the United States spent $3.1 billion on munitions alone, none of which was budgeted for.
War losses and infrastructure damage amounted to $359 million not previously budgeted by DOW.
Finally, operations and support costs totaled $196.3 million; this includes $18.3 million already included in DOW’s budget.
These estimates indicate that DOW spent approximately $3.54 billion in off-budget funds during the first 100 hours of the war in Iran. Congress passed a $900 billion defense budget last year.
