For further reporting on what Open the Books has just published about Pentagon spending, see:

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling:

https://newrepublic.com/post/207555/pete-hegseth-billions-dollars-fruit-basket-stands-chairs-crab

Rebecca Schoenkoepf:

https://www.wonkette.com/p/me-gustas-tu-tabs-wed-march-11-2026

Marcie Jones:

https://www.wonkette.com/p/whos-doing-pete-hegseths-war-shopping

Heather Cox Richardson:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-10-2026

#Trump #Hegseth #Pentagon #military #war #healthcare #housing #education
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"The Pentagon found a way to spend more than $12,000 on fruit baskets, as well as a total of $3,160 on stickers featuring beloved children’s characters from Dora the Explorer, Frozen, and Paw Patrol. The department also spent $5.3 million on Apple devices, including purchasing 400 of the more expensive 512-gigabyte edition iPad Air M3s rather than cheaper models with less storage."

#Trump #Hegseth #Pentagon #military #war #healthcare #housing #education
/6

"The Defense Department also spent nearly $140,000 on doughnuts, $124,000 on ice cream machines, $26,000 on sushi preparation tables, and a whopping $15.1 million on ribeye steak. …

$1.8 million on musical instruments, such as a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, a $26,000 violin, and a $21,750 custom handmade Japanese flute."

#Trump #Hegseth #Pentagon #military #war #healthcare #housing #education
/5

"These amounts only include money sent to entities outside the government, not salaries for service members and scores of other expenses.

Instead, the shopping spree encompasses luxury food items like lobster, high-end furniture and rushed IT purchases.

Included in this spending was $2 million on Alaskan king crab last September alone, as well as $6.9 million on lobster tail and $1 million on salmon."

#Trump #Hegseth #Pentagon #military #war #healthcare #housing #education
/4

"Since at least 2008 — and presumably in history — no federal agency has ever spent so much on grants & contracts in a single month.

In the last five working days of September alone, the DoD spent $50.1 billion on grants and contracts. That’s more than the annual defense budget of countries like Israel and Italy. In fact, there are only nine foreign countries that spend that much on their military in an entire year!"

#Trump #Hegseth #Pentagon #military #war #healthcare #housing #education
/3

"Open the Books has tracked the annual September spending bonanza for nearly a decade. Military spending has spiked every year, regardless of which party controlled the White House.

However, there has never been anything quite like September 2025, when $93.4 billion was spent on grants and contracts."

~ Open the Books

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https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/pentagon-should-focus-on-defense