In September 2025, the Pentagon spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts that covered a wide range of items, according to a government spending watchdog group
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NEED TO KNOW
- The Pentagon spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts in September 2025, including $50.1 billion in just five days, according to a government spending watchdog group
- Purchases included $15.1 million on ribeye steak, $6.9 million on lobster tail, and $225.6 million on furniture
- Spending often surges at the Department of Defense in the month of September to avoid losing unused funds before the fiscal year closes
Months before the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began, Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense reportedly went on a spending spree that included millions on steak, salmon, lobster, furniture and more.
In September 2025, the Pentagon spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts, according to the government spending watchdog Open The Books. During the last five working days of the month, the Department of Defense spent $50.1 billion in grants and contracts, according to Open The Books, which notes that only nine other countries spend that much on their military in one year.
The Pentagon may have been in a rush to spend the money before the government’s fiscal year ended on Sept. 30. As Open The Books notes, if the Pentagon didn’t spend the money, it would have to forfeit the unused funds and see funding reduced in the following year due to “use-it-or-lose-it” funding rules.
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The military typically saves its furniture buying for the end of the fiscal year. According to Open The Books, the Pentagon averages $38.8 million on furniture in months outside of September. Since 2008, the Pentagon has spent an average of $257.6 million on furniture in September. In September 2025, the Department of Defense spent $225.6 million on furniture, including $12,540 for fruit basket stands and $60,719 worth of chairs from Herman Miller — one of which costed $1,800 on its own.
The September 2025 spending spree reportedly went well beyond furniture. The military spent $2 million on Alaskan king crab; $15.1 million on ribeye steak; $1 million on salmon; $124,000 on ice cream machines; $26,000 on sushi preparation tables; and $139,224 on 272 orders of donuts, per Open The Books.
In 2025, the Pentagon spent more than $7.4 million on lobster tail in each of the months of March, May, June and October, according to Open The Books. This had only been done once before in military history, in October 2024. In September 2025, the Pentagon spent $6.9 million on lobster tail.
The Pentagon also spent $98,329 on a Steinway & Sons grand piano for Air Force chief of staff's home, $26,000 on a violin and $21,750 for a custom-made flute from a luxury Japanese brand. There could also be many new footrests at the Pentagon, since the military spent $111,497 in that category.
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Many of the goods purchased were made outside the U.S. The Pentagon spent a record $6.6 billion on purchases from foreign governments and foreign-owned businesses in September 2025, breaking a record set in September 2023, according to Open The Books.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
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