Featured Image Credit: Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
Topics: US Food
Poppy Bilderbeck
The US Defense Department has been accused of spending a staggering figure on 'lavish dinners' including $22 million on lobster and steak in one single month.
The US is experiencing an ongoing cost of living crisis, grocery prices rising over a whopping 30 percent since 2019, as reported by Allianz.
However, when it comes to wallets feeling the pinch, the same strains certainly don't seem to be applying to the Pentagon.
American nonprofit organisation Open the Books has released a damning report alleging the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense has been splashing the cash on 'lavish dinners' rather than 'defense priorities'.
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And the breakdown of how US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is allegedly allowing the department's funds to be used is mind-blowing.
Open the Books is a group intent on lifting the curtain on any spending by the US government with a focus on complete transparency.
And the Pentagon hasn't gotten of lightly in its latest report released on 9 March.
According to Open the Books, September 2025 was a particularly opulent month for the US Department of Defense with much of its 'shopping spree' encompassing 'luxury food items'.
It alleges in that one month, the Pentagon 'purchased' a staggering $15.1 million worth of ribeye steak alongside $6.9 million of lobster tail, totalling a whopping $22 million.
And that was reportedly far from all too.
That month's purchases also allegedly included:
The grand total? A reported $25,289,224.
Open the Books is quick to point out the $6.9 million on lobster tail is 'not an isolated incident' too, even branding it 'a theme of Hegseth's spending so far'.
"In 2025, the DoD spent more than $7.4 million on lobster tail in four separate months: March, May, June and October. That had previously only happened once in history (October 2024)," it adds.
And let's not forget about the entertainment and furniture too.
Oh no, because why enjoy lobster without a $100,000 Steinway and Son's grand piano to be serenaded to following your luxurious meal?
And if you've spent that much already, why not add an additional alleged $225.6 million in on top on furniture, 'including a $12,540 fruit basket' and '$60,000 on recliners'.
In a statement to LADbible Group on behalf of the White House, Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said: “It is a longstanding tradition for the Department of War to serve troops a nice meal when their deployments are announced or extended. It’s shameful that TDS-ravaged ‘reporters’ are twisting this special gesture for service members who are risking their lives in order to attack President Trump’s administration.”