A government watchdog analysis found the Department of War obligated more than $93 billion in contracts and grants during the final month of fiscal year 2025, including tens of billions spent in the last days of September.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of War committed a record $93 billion in grants and contracts during September 2025, including more than $50 billion in the final five business days of the fiscal year, according to a new analysis detailed in a report by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The findings, compiled by the government watchdog group Open The Books, indicate the Pentagon’s end-of-year spending reached levels not seen in at least 17 years. Data cited in the report shows that the agency had not recorded such a high level of fiscal-year-end obligations since at least 2008, according to federal spending data available through USAspending.gov.
September Spike / DoD Contract & Grant Spending Since FY08 / Courtesy of Open The Books
Fall Furnishings / Monthly DoD Furniture Spending Since FY08 / Courtesy of Open The Books
Crab Becomes King / Monthly King Crab Spending Since FY08 / Courtesy of Open The Books
Federal agencies often accelerate spending near the close of the fiscal year because of “use-it-or-lose-it” budget rules that can reduce future appropriations if allocated funds remain unspent. The watchdog group, which has tracked Pentagon financial activity for nearly a decade, said the scale of the 2025 spending spike exceeded any previously documented year-end surge.
Open The Books sent a formal letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth urging the department to shift its spending priorities toward what it described as the Pentagon’s “central warfighting and lethality mission.” Despite the appeal, the group said September 2025 produced what it characterized as the largest fiscal-year-end spending burst on record.
Furniture purchases again ranked among the department’s notable expenditures during the final month of the fiscal year. Government data shows the Pentagon spent more than $225 million on furniture during September, the highest amount recorded for that category since 2014. Individual purchases included $12,000 for fruit basket stands and more than $60,000 for premium Herman Miller chairs.
The department also recorded large expenditures on food during the same period. According to the report, officials purchased $2 million worth of Alaskan king crab during September, a procurement pattern the analysis said occurred five separate times during President Donald Trump’s tenure.
Additional food purchases included nearly $7 million in lobster tail acquisitions during September, compared with a combined $7.4 million spent on lobster tail across the months of March, May, June, and October. Records also showed spending of more than $130,000 on donuts, $1 million on salmon, and $15.1 million on ribeye steak.
Technology spending accounted for another large share of the month’s financial activity. The Department of War obligated nearly $6 billion on information technology in September alone. Within that total, $3.5 billion went toward cable television and technical support services—ranked as the fourth-largest monthly expenditure ever recorded for that category—while $2.4 billion covered purchases such as laptops and software licenses.
Procurement records further showed purchases from major technology companies, including $5.3 million for Apple devices and $4 million for Samsung monitors and other equipment.
The spending extended beyond operational equipment and food purchases. Pentagon records indicated $1.8 million was spent on musical instruments during the month, including a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano, a $26,000 violin, and a handmade Japanese flute costing $21,750.
Foreign procurement also increased significantly. The Department of War spent approximately $6.6 billion on goods and services sourced from foreign governments and companies during September, surpassing the previous record of $5.2 billion set in September 2023. Of that amount, $3 billion went toward services such as training programs, janitorial work, and border surveillance, while $3.6 billion covered physical goods including computer chips and fire trucks. Data cited in the report indicates $2.2 billion of the purchased goods were manufactured in the United States, while $1.4 billion originated overseas.
President Donald Trump earlier called on Congress to increase the Pentagon’s budget to $1.5 trillion in Fiscal Year 2027, writing in a January Truth Social post that the expanded funding would “allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to.”
Meanwhile, the cost of ongoing military operations has added additional financial pressure to the defense budget. An analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury alone could cost approximately $3.7 billion, averaging roughly $900 million per day. The analysis reported that $3.5 billion of the campaign’s expenses were not included in the existing defense budget.
Open The Books CEO John Hart told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the scale of the spending spike raises concerns about how taxpayer funds are managed.
“Under Secretary Hegseth, the Pentagon has consistently said its mission is to refocus on warfighting and lethality,” Hart said. “Last year, we highlighted the problem of wasteful use-it-or-lose-it year-end spending. We noted that this reform is fully within the secretary’s control and is a historic opportunity to make good on that promise.”
Hart described the September spending surge as unprecedented.
“Unfortunately, the Pentagon’s traditional year-end spending spree in 2025 was the worst ever on record at a staggering $93.4 billion,” Hart said. “This is unacceptable. American taxpayers expect their dollars to support critical defense priorities, not lavish dinners.”
“Moreover, careless spending emboldens our enemies and puts American lives at risk. We need to focus on replenishing interceptors, not appetizers. American taxpayers voted for change and expect better results,” he added.
Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, said the findings underscore the need for increased accountability in federal defense spending.
“If taxpayers are going to be asked to spend $1.5 trillion on defense—nearly as much as the rest of the world combined—Washington must be able to defend how every dollar is being spent,” Ernst said. “Open the Books’ findings that binge-buying bureaucrats at the Pentagon burned through tens of billions of dollars on impulse purchases, like fruit basket stands, footrests, doughnuts by the dozen, and a custom-made flute, demonstrate how much work still needs to be done to meet that goal.”
Ernst said she introduced the Reviewing Every Check and Each Invoice Purchasing Troops’ Supplies Act earlier this year, legislation aimed at requiring the Pentagon to complete a clean audit by 2028. The measure, announced in a Senate statement outlining how Ernst is working to address government waste, was detailed in a press release.
The senator also told the Daily Caller News Foundation she plans to introduce additional legislation intended to end what she described as a recurring “Christmas in September” spending surge across federal agencies.
September Spike / DoD Contract & Grant Spending Since FY08 / Courtesy of Open The Books
Furniture typically tops the Pentagon’s wish list at the end of each fiscal year, and 2025 was no exception. Government data shows the Department spent over $225 million on furniture, the highest since 2014. Officials spent a notable $12,000 on fruit basket stands in September 2025, and over $60,000 just on premium Herman Miller chairs.
Fall Furnishings / Monthly DoD Furniture Spending Since FY08 / Courtesy of Open The Books
President Donald Trump’s Pentagon has spent considerably less on furniture each September than the $300 to $400 million routinely spent over the course of former President Barack Obama’s first several years. Biden-era officials, despite being out of office for extended periods due to the COVID pandemic, still managed to spend a staggering $3 billion on furniture between 2020 and 2022.
The DoW also enjoyed a generous food budget in September 2025. According to the report, the Pentagon purchased $2 million worth of Alaskan king crab, a massive end-of-fiscal year feat accomplished five times across Trump’s tenure.
Crab Becomes King / Monthly King Crab Spending Since FY08 / Courtesy of Open The Books
September was a low point in the Pentagon’s lobster tail spending, with just under $7 million worth of lobster tail purchased in September compared to $7.4 million across March, May, June and October. But officials did drop over $130,000 on donuts, $1 million on salmon and $15.1 million on ribeye steak.
The DoW spent nearly $6 billion on information technology (IT) in the month of September, including $3.5 billion for cable TV and technical support — the fourth-highest amount ever in one month, according to the report — and $2.4 billion in goods like laptops and software licenses. Officials also purchased millions of dollars in technology from Big Tech giants, including $5.3 million for Apple devices and $4 million on Samsung monitors and other devices.
Musical instruments made their way into the budget as well. A $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano, a $26,000 violin and a $21,750 handmade Japanese flute were among the $1.8 million spent on instruments in September.
The Pentagon also made purchases totaling $6.6 billion from foreign governments and businesses, over $1 billion more than the previous record of $5.2 billion during September 2023. Those expenditures included $3 billion for training classes, janitorial work and border surveillance, and $3.6 billion worth of goods such as computer chips and firetrucks. Of that total, $2.2 billion of the products were made in the USA, while $1.4 billion were produced abroad, according to the report.
Trump called for Congress to raise the Pentagon’s budget from $900 billion to $1.5 trillion in Fiscal Year 2027 in a Truth Social post in January. He wrote that this budget would “allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to.”
The first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury is estimated to cost taxpayers nearly $900 million per day, for a total of $3.7 billion — over 25-times the amount spent by the Pentagon last September — according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). Although Hegseth has confirmed the Pentagon will shift to producing lower-cost munitions, CSIS reports that $3.5 billion of the campaign’s expenses are not budgeted.
“Under Secretary Hegseth, the Pentagon has consistently said its mission is to refocus on warfighting and lethality,” OTB CEO John Hart told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Last year, we highlighted the problem of wasteful use-it-or-lose-it year-end spending. We noted that this reform is fully within the secretary’s control and is a historic opportunity to make good on that promise.”
Hart called the Pentagon’s most recent spending bonanza “unacceptable.”
“Unfortunately, the Pentagon’s traditional year-end spending spree in 2025 was the worst ever on record at a staggering $93.4 billion,” Hart said. “This is unacceptable. American taxpayers expect their dollars to support critical defense priorities, not lavish dinners.”
“Moreover, careless spending emboldens our enemies and puts American lives at risk. We need to focus on replenishing interceptors, not appetizers. American taxpayers voted for change and expect better results,” he added.
Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst said the DoW should be able to defend “how every dollar is being spent.”
“If taxpayers are going to be asked to spend $1.5 trillion on defense—nearly as much as the rest of the world combined—Washington must be able to defend how every dollar is being spent,” Ernst told the DCNF. “Open the Books’ findings that binge-buying bureaucrats at the Pentagon burned through tens of billions of dollars on impulse purchases, like fruit basket stands, footrests, doughnuts by the dozen, and a custom-made flute, demonstrate how much work still needs to be done to meet that goal.”
Ernst, in an effort to “empower the Trump administration to win the war on waste,” introduced the Reviewing Every Check and Each Invoice Purchasing Troops’ Supplies (RECEIPTS) Act in early February, which Ernst says would require a “clean audit” of the Pentagon by 2028. Ernst also told the DCNF she would be introducing a bill in late February to “end the ‘Christmas in September’ shopping spree at every government agency.”
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