General Discussion

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.

snip

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.



snip

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.

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.