but....it's all for the war effort

[ImStillMags Mags]

[I-think4me]

So much for that laser focus on waste fraud and abuse.  Guess that’s just for poor ppl. 

[Susiejoe]

A piece of the puzzle.  Hegseth is the one who removed the military's Rules of Engagement and the staff that worked to ensure the US was never intentionally targeting civilians with its missile strikes.  The war crime committed in bombing those 170 elementary school children is a crime punishable by death.  Another piece of the puzzle came out this morning that the school was for children of the IRGC which suggests it may well have been intentional.  

[Thomas Argo]

Should toss in the cost of tomahawks the eaters are chucking too.

[Irie]

Given your history (and your comical memes history), i'm gonna call bullshit.

On Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 6:31:32 PM UTC-5 ImStillMags Mags wrote:

[ImStillMags Mags]

sigh....do your own research

In March 2026, a government watchdog report by Open The Books revealed that the Department of Defense (DOD) under Secretary 

 engaged in a massive $93.4 billion  spending spree in September 2025. 

FOX 11 +1

While the vast majority of this went toward standard grants and contracts, millions were spent on luxury food and high-end items that drew sharp criticism: 

FOX 11 +1

Luxury Food & Dining

The Pentagon spent roughly $22 million on high-end food items in a single month: 

Yahoo +1

• Seafood: $6.9 million on 
  lobster tail
   and $2 million on 
  Alaskan king crab
  .
• Meats: $15.1 million on 
  ribeye steaks
   and $1 million on salmon.
• Desserts: $139,224 on 272 orders of doughnuts and $124,000 on ice cream machines.
• Dining Equipment: $26,000 on sushi preparation tables. 
  FOX 11 +4

Furniture & Luxury Items

A total of $225.6 million was spent on furniture in September alone, the highest amount for the agency in over a decade: 

People.com +1

• Seating: Over $60,000 on high-end Herman Miller recliners and office chairs.
• Instruments: $1.8 million for musical instruments, including a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff's residence, a $26,000 violin, and a $21,750 Japanese flute.
• Decor: $12,540 for three-tiered fruit basket stands. 
  The New Republic +2

Technology & Services

Significant funds were also allocated to tech and consumer electronics: 

• Apple Devices: $5.3 million for Apple products, including hundreds of high-end 
  iPad Airs
  .
• Entertainment: $3.5 billion for cable TV services as part of a larger $6 billion IT and telecommunications spend. 

[BEZARK]

Warriors don’t come cheap

[Irie]

The figures stem from an analysis by the watchdog group Open the Books, which found that the Department of Defense (DOD), under Secretary Pete Hegseth, spent a record $93.4 billion in September 2025. 

Breakdown of the Spending

While the vast majority of the $93.4 billion went toward military grants and contracts, several specific discretionary and luxury items have faced intense public scrutiny:

Luxury Food: The Pentagon spent approximately $22 million on high-end food in September alone, including $15.1 million for ribeye steaks, $6.9 million for lobster tails, and $2 million for Alaskan king crab.

Furniture & Decor: Over $225 million was spent on furniture, which included $12,540 for fruit basket stands and over $60,000 for Herman Miller recliners.

Other Noted Expenses: Reports also confirmed $5.3 million for Apple devices, $139,224 for doughnuts, $124,000 for ice cream machines, and a $98,329 Steinway grand piano for a high-ranking official's residence. 

Important Context that the leftists ignore unless there in an R in office

"Use-it-or-lose-it" Rules: This spending surge typically happens every September because federal agencies must spend their remaining allocated funds before the fiscal year ends on September 30 or risk losing that money in the next year's budget.

Not Personal Spending: These are Department of Defense expenditures for military bases, dining facilities, and offices worldwide; they are not personal purchases made by Pete Hegseth himself.

Historic High: While year-end "spending sprees" are common under all administrations, the $93.4 billion spent in September 2025 was the highest single-month total for any federal agency since at least 2008. 

duplicituous much?

[I-think4me]

duplicituous much?

Duplicitous would be screaming about waste, fraud and abuse and then crying “ well everyone does it” when your team does it. 

If the DOD needed to go on a spending spree,  I suspect that $93 billion would have gone a long ways towards repairing the military housing they have been insisting for years they lack the funding to address. 

[PirateLT]

Proves that DOGE was just a fraud. MAGA was never about smaller government, just inflicting pain on programs they hated.

[BEZARK]

Proves that upper MAGA are frauds.

And the mass of MAGA saps.

[I-think4me]

Yep. Kind of like spending four years screaming about Hunter Biden and “influence peddling”, then going mum as Trump and sons blatantly rake in billions. 

[Irie]

".....the vast majority of the $93.4 billion went toward military grants and contracts.... "

[Irie]

It is pretty pathetic how you can buy a lobster with an EBT card but lefties don't think our military should get one from time to time.

[PirateLT]

oh brother.

[Irie]

Oh brother what?

I have no issues with helping a service member out.  Why do you?

[PirateLT]

Again, oh brother.  Lobster is not the way.  Want to help out service members.  Spend money on their housing, support their dependents, improve that.   

One can support the troops and want help for them and be against this stupid splurge.

[Irie]

From someone who served I can tell you that an occasional "treat" is much appreciated.

This is much ado about nothing....barely even a rounding error.

[Irie]

The viral claim that “$98K was spent for a staffer’s house” is misleading.

It was spent on a piano, but for an official government residence used for events, not someone’s personal home.

[PirateLT]

For someone who grew up on multiple bases/posts I can tell you that means little when your housing is shit.

But hey, spin it if you wish.  Hegseth is a horrible Sec of Defense. Even my father has said that much.

[Irie]

Yes: During the Biden administration, the Pentagon spent millions on steak and lobster.

This is nothing new, it happens every year.  

You on the left just fixate on it now because of the TDS.

Fiscal Year

% of Annual Contract Spending in September

2004–2009 avg

~16.5%

2017

~16–17%

2018

~17%

2019

~16%

2020

~18%

2021

~17%

2022

~16%

2023

~16–17%

2024

~16–17%

[PirateLT]

Ah the whataboutism.  Cool that means you got nothing.

I wouldn't support that anymore than I support it now.  

[Lobo]

<< It is pretty pathetic how you can buy a lobster with an EBT card but lefties don't think our military should get one from time to time.  >>

It's true that a SNAP recipient could blow his entire monthly allotment on a lobster tail dinner. But then he would have to go the rest of the month without eating anything at all.

[Irie]

You guys are clowns.  You never have shit to say when every DOD going back as far as any of can remember engage in an activity but now...oh now it's different.  My windows aren't even as transparent as you.

For someone who claims to have worked for the feds and in industry I am stricken by how little you know about budgets.

[Susiejoe]

SNAP doesnt cover prepared meals lobo.  My local grocery store has lobster tails for $5 tomorrow and Sat.  They do the sale all the time.  It is a national chain so a significant number of SNAP recipients can buy if they want.  As far as our soldiers, more power to them.  

[I-think4me]

You guys are clowns.  You never have shit to say when every DOD going back as far as any of can remember engage in an activity but now...oh now it's different.  

How many of those past administrations made cutting waste fraud and abuse a central theme of their administration? How many of them were cutting SNAP and health benefits for millions of the poorest while splurging on steak and lobster and luxery jets so cabinet members can travel in luxury? How many of them were simultaneously building $400 million ballrooms and stadiums to host a UFC fight for their birthday?

[Susiejoe]

Sorry Irie but I think Hegseth is incompetent and dangerous in that job.  98K for a piano is outrageous but I am far more appalled at the multi billions being spent to bomb 90 million people who never did shit to us to justify such barbaric inhumanity.  

On Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 12:29:40 PM UTC-5 Irie wrote:

[Irie]

Hegseth may well be a moron but that has nothing to do with this.  

This is about contrived dim outrage over the practice because of who is occupying the WH.