Key Points
- The Pentagon spent $93.4 billion in September 2025 due to “use-it-or-lose-it” budget rules.
- Purchases included $2 million in king crab, $6.9 million in lobster tail, and $124,000 in ice cream machines.
- Critics say end-of-year spending incentives result in rushed purchases and potential waste.
The Pentagon closed out the 2025 fiscal year with a historic surge in spending that sent tens of billions of dollars out the door in a single month.
In September alone, the Department of Defense spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts, the highest monthly total recorded by any federal agency since at least 2008, according to watchdog group Open the Books.
The massive spending wave included everything from defense technology purchases to unexpected items like king crab, lobster tail and ice cream machines.
The September Spending Rush
The spike reflects a long-standing federal budget rule commonly known as “use-it-or-lose-it” spending.
Agencies must spend the funds allocated to them before the fiscal year ends or risk losing that money and possibly receiving a smaller budget the following year.
That pressure often results in a late-year purchasing sprint. In September 2025, the Pentagon spent $50.1 billion in just the final five working days of the fiscal year.
To put that in perspective, that five-day total exceeds the entire annual military budgets of several allied countries.
These figures only include grants and contracts sent to outside organizations. They do not include salaries for service members or many internal operating expenses.
The September spending surge has been documented for years, with federal spending regularly jumping at the end of the fiscal year no matter which party controls the White House.
But September 2025 stood out as the largest burst yet.
Luxury Food Purchases Raise Eyebrows
Among the more surprising purchases were large amounts of high-end seafood and other premium food items.
The Pentagon spent $2 million on Alaskan king crab during the month.
According to Fortune magazine, king crab has become the “hottest luxury ingredient,” partly because of the challenges involved in harvesting it in remote waters.
The military also bought $6.9 million worth of lobster tail. Ribeye steak purchases totaled, while salmon purchases reached about $1 million.
Other food-related spending included $139,224 across 272 orders of doughnuts, $124,000 for ice cream machines and $26,000 for sushi preparation tables.
While military dining facilities regularly buy food supplies, the scale and timing of these purchases drew attention because they occurred during the end-of-year spending surge.
Furniture Buying Spree
Furniture purchases also surged as the fiscal year came to a close. The Pentagon spent $225.6 million on furniture in September, far higher than typical monthly spending levels.
Since 2008, the Department of Defense has spent an average of about $257.6 million on furniture each September. In other months, the average drops to roughly $38.8 million.
Many of the purchases were categorized as office furniture. One order included $60,719 worth of chairs from premium manufacturer Herman Miller, including at least one Aeron chair priced at $1,844.
The department also spent $12,540 on three-tiered fruit basket stands.
Technology Purchases Surge
Technology spending represented another major portion of the September surge.
The Pentagon spent $5.9 billion on information technology and telecommunications during the month.
That total included $3.5 billion on services such as technical support and cable television, along with $2.4 billion on equipment including laptops and software licenses.
Academic research has found that federal IT purchases made during the final week of the fiscal year are significantly more likely to receive lower quality ratings from government technology officials.
The rush to spend remaining funds often results in hurried buying decisions.
Private companies actively target the end-of-year window.
Internal guidance shared by Hewlett-Packard employees encouraged sales teams to reach out to government clients during the spending rush, noting that “8.7% of federal government spending will occur in this last week.”
The memo described the period as five times the normal weekly rate of spending.
Unusual Purchases
Several purchases from the September spending wave stood out.
The Pentagon spent $5.3 million on Apple devices, including 400 new iPad Air M3 tablets costing about $788 each.
Another $4 million went toward Samsung products, including a 98-inch monitor priced at about $4,000.
Musical instruments accounted for another $1.8 million. That included a $98,329 Steinway grand piano purchased for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, along with a $26,000 violin and a $21,750 handmade flute from Japanese manufacturer Muramatsu.
Other items included $111,497 in footrests and $3,160 on children’s stickers featuring characters from Dora the Explorer, Frozen and Paw Patrol.
Cleaning up after the spending spree also carried a price tag. Garbage collection costs totaled $19.3 million.
Foreign Spending Record
The Pentagon also spent a record $6.6 billion with foreign governments and foreign-owned companies during September.
Major recipients included businesses or government entities in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada.
Some purchases supported overseas military bases and required local providers, while others involved equipment produced by foreign companies.
Notably, none of the September spending went to adversarial nations such as China or Russia.
Calls For Budget Reform
Some policy analysts say the September spending pattern reflects a structural issue with federal budgeting rules.
Mike Weiland, CEO of government contracting platform Govly, compared the final day of the fiscal year to a major retail event.
Sept. 30 is like “Amazon Prime Day” for the federal government, Weiland wrote.
He explained the underlying incentive problem: “If a government agency doesn’t spend its allocated budget funds over the course of the fiscal year, they no longer have access to those funds in the next year.”
That dynamic can result in a rush to spend remaining funds before they disappear.
Some critics argue the Pentagon should instead focus more heavily on core defense priorities.
As military tensions increase in parts of the Middle East, watchdog groups say resources should prioritize critical systems such as missile defenses and drone interceptors.
Others say the solution may be to allow agencies to roll over some unused funding into the next fiscal year.
Supporters of that approach argue it could reduce rushed spending and encourage more deliberate purchasing decisions.
For now, the end-of-year spending rush is still a regular part of how the federal budget works.
In 2025, it produced one of the biggest single-month spending bursts on record, including luxury seafood, office furniture, and even a grand piano.