The Pentagon spent millions of dollars on luxury crabs and other food items in a single month as part of a frantic end-of-year spending spree to maintain its immense funding.
An analysis by the government watchdog Open the Books found that the department led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent more than $93 billion in September 2025, the end of the fiscal year, on various grants and contracts, the highest total since at least 2008.
Included in this spending was $2 million on Alaskan king crab last September alone, as well as $6.9 million on lobster tail and $1 million on salmon. The Defense Department also spent nearly $140,000 on doughnuts, $124,000 on ice cream machines, $26,000 on sushi preparation tables, and a whopping $15.1 million on ribeye steak.
As Open the Books explained, the Pentagon tries to spend as much of its congressionally allocated budget as possible at the end of every fiscal year because of federal “use-it-or-lose-it” rules. If the department ends the year with leftover funds, it risks having its budget reduced the following year.
On top of the billions of dollars spent on technologies, contracts, and purchases from foreign governments and businesses, the department also found inventive ways to ensure it used as much of its budget as possible in the final month.
This reportedly included spending $1.8 million on musical instruments, such as a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, a $26,000 violin, and a $21,750 custom handmade Japanese flute.
The Pentagon found a way to spend more than $12,000 on fruit baskets, as well as a total of $3,160 on stickers featuring beloved children’s characters from Dora the Explorer, Frozen, and Paw Patrol. The department also spent $5.3 million on Apple devices, including purchasing 400 of the more expensive 512-gigabyte edition iPad Air M3s rather than cheaper models with less storage.
Elsewhere, the Pentagon maintained its habit of spending vast sums on high-end office furnishings.
The data showed that the Defense Department spent more than $225 million on furniture, the highest level since 2014, including one chair that cost $1,844. Since 2008, the DOD has spent an average of $257.6 million on furniture every September.
Mike Weiland, CEO of Govly, a company that helps businesses get government contracts, said the last day of the fiscal year is like “Amazon Prime Day” for the federal government as agencies rush to spend their remaining funds.
“The loss of their surplus funds, combined with the threat of a decline in future funding, is a recipe for serious fear among government agencies,” Weiland told Open the Books. “Hence why they hit the panic button in August and September to spend.”
John Hart, CEO of Open the Books, called the Pentagon’s multibillion-dollar spending in September 2025 “unacceptable.”
“American taxpayers expect their dollars to support critical defense priorities, not lavish dinners,” Hart told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
