Open the Books reported that the Department of Defense spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts in September 2025, the final month of the fiscal year, described as the largest single-month spending total recorded by a federal agency. The spending occurred in the context of federal budgeting rules that require agencies to obligate appropriated funds before year-end or risk losing them.
The report identified September purchases including $6.9 million on lobster, $2 million on Alaskan king crab, and $15.1 million on ribeye steak, along with 272 doughnut orders totaling $139,224 and $124,000 for ice cream machines. Records also showed $225.6 million spent on furniture, including $60,719 for high-end office chairs, $12,540 for decorative fruit basket stands, and $111,497 for footrests. Musical instruments spending totaled $1.8 million, including a $98,329 Steinway grand piano for the Air Force chief of staffâs residence.
In Talbott v. Trump, transgender service members and prospective recruits challenge President Trumpâs January 2025 executive order directing separations for troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria and blocking transgender enlistment. Pentagon data introduced in court reflect about $52 million spent from 2015â2024 on transgender-related care, averaging about $5.2 million per year.