The Department of Defense (DOD) under President Joe Biden spent more in September than in any previous month since 2008, with some funds being used for multi-million dollar splurges on luxury items, according to an Open The Books report published Tuesday.
The DOD spent a grand total of $79.1 billion in September 2024, with $33.1 billion of the amount spent within the last five working days of the fiscal year, according to the report. The sudden increase in spending at the end of the fiscal year in September often serves to keep their funding levels steady, as spending less may lead to congressional budget cuts.
“If you think back to the Bush administration, we were in two hot wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Christopher Neefus, spokesperson for Open The Books, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Today, under Secretary [Lloyd] Austin, the Pentagon has managed to exceed that monthly spending figure in real dollars. They are perennially failing audits, but some of what they did itemize is tough to swallow – unless you like lobster.”
The DOD splurged $6.1 million on lobster tails in September, over $3 million dollars more than it spent the same month in 2023, according to the report. Other luxury food purchases included $16.6 million on ribeye steak and $6.4 million on salmon, spending similar amounts on the meats last September.
The department also ordered ice cream 79 times for $113,230 and spent $117,787 on fresh doughnuts, according to the report.
Technology purchases also accounted for a considerable portion of the spending, with $5.1 million going to Apple products, including 130 iPhone 16 Pro Maxes, which are considered luxury versions of the base iPhone 16 model, according to the report. They also spent a whopping $211 million solely on furniture, $36,000 of which went toward footrests alone.
The DOD also managed to spend $1.2 million on musical instruments, according to the report.
However, the largest purchases in September went towards expected items, with $3 billion spent on ammunition and $7.9 billion spent on aircraft, according to the report.
The Pentagon also failed its seven consecutive audit in 2024, with the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025 requiring the DOD to pass an audit by 2028, according to the report.
The DOD did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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