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Ironically, on the same day that Senate Democrats are railing against Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing, claiming he is unqualified to fill the role, a watchdog group has released a report revealing wasteful spending by the current Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin.
According to Open The Books, Joe Biden’s Defense Department allegedly went on a wild spending spree in the last days of the Fiscal Year 2024, shelling out massive amounts of money for luxury items just to use up the money they had in their budget.
From the Daily Caller: 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 Pentagon also spent money on expected items, such as $3 billion on ammunition, and nearly $8 billion on aircraft.
However, the scathing report highlights multiple excessive expenditures just in the month of September 2024, including:
- $6.1 million on lobster tails in September, over $3 million dollars more than it spent the same month in 2023
- $16.6 million on ribeye steak
- $6.4 million on salmon
- $113,230 on ice cream orders
- $117,787 for fresh doughnuts
- $5.1 million for Apple products, including 130 iPhone 16 Pro Maxes
- $211 million solely on furniture, $36,000 of which went toward footrests alone.
- $1.2 million on musical instruments
“In just the last 5 business days of the fiscal year, the Pentagon blew $33.1 billion during its use-it-or-lose-it spending spree,” Open The Books revealed.
In just the last 5 business days of the fiscal year, the Pentagon blew $33.1 billion during its use-it-or-lose-it spending spree. Read for more details. 💸💸💸 @WashTimes
cc: @johnhart333 @MatthewTyrmand @elonmusk @VivekGRamaswamy @DOGE https://t.co/KxDThzSEON
— Open the Books (@open_the_books) January 14, 2025
— Open the Books (@open_the_books) January 14, 2025
Open The Books also noted, “The Department of Defense did not pass its financial audit for the seventh year in a row, violating federal law and admitting that the military has no clue what its $824 billion budget is actually spent on! 🤯”
The Department of Defense did not pass its financial audit for the seventh year in a row, violating federal law and admitting that the military has no clue what its $824 billion budget is actually spent on! 🤯https://t.co/HZTqVQs5gP
by @JeremyPortnoy, Open the Books…— Open the Books (@open_the_books) January 14, 2025
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