Pete Hegseth's $93.4B spending spree: Lobster, furniture and other splurges
· Toronto Sun
Lobsters and fruit baskets and flutes, oh my!
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It appears that U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has expensive tastes in food, furniture, musical instruments and other goods, as the Department of Defence spent $93.4 billion in September.
According to American government watchdog Open the Books , Hegseth and company burned through much of that amount on grants and contracts, including $50.1 billion in five days. It reportedly was the most spent at the end of a fiscal year since 2008.
The watchdog noted the DOD may have been in a rush to spend all the funds before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 as funding rules mean the money doesn’t carry over and the budget could be reduced the following year.
Expensive (food) tastes
When it comes to food, the Pentagon spared no expense on dining in luxury.
The defence department reportedly spent $2 million on Alaskan king crab in September, which is the fifth time the organization has spent $2 million or more on the large crustacean in a single month while Donald Trump was president — twice during his first term and three times in 2025.
Lobster tails also satisfied the craving of the military, having spent $6.9 million on it in September. It’s not the first time either, as the DoD has spent $7.4 million on lobster tails four times, in March, May, June and October, Open the Books reported.
Other expensive culinary purchases in September: Ribeye steak ($15.1 million), salmon ($1 million), doughnuts ($139,224), ice cream machines ($124,000), and sushi preparation tables ($26,000).
Pricey cush for your tush
When military personnel are toiling away for hours at a desk in front of a computer, one would want to be comfortable, right?
Last September, the department spent $225.6 million on furniture — the most spent on it since 2014. Nearly half of the purchases were labelled as “office furniture.”
This included $60,719 in chairs from premium furniture maker Herman Miller, of which one order was for the $1,844 Aeron chair.
The DoD also spent $12,540 for three-tiered fruit basket stands.
Other miscellaneous purchases
In an effort to spend up all the government funding before Sept. 30, the Pentagon also purchased a slew of miscellaneous items.
DoD spending records for September 2025 showed the organization spending a lot on gadgets, including $5.3 million on Apple items and $4 million on Samsung products (including a $4,000 98-inch monitor).
Musical tastes were also satisfied after spending $1.8 million on instruments. Purchases include a Steinway & Sons grand piano valued at $98,329 for an Air Force chief of staff’s home, a $26,000 violin, and $21,750 on a handmade flute made by Japanese luxury brand Muramatsu.
Another $111,497 was spent on footrests by the Pentagon, and $3,160 was spent on stickers featuring such characters as Dora the Explorer, Disney’s Frozen, and Paw Patrol.
Collecting garbage wasn’t cheap either at the Pentagon. It came at a price tag of $19.3 million, per Open the Books.