A conservative watchdog says the Pentagon should seize this moment to end a pattern of waste as the current fiscal year closes. Open the Books identifies about 20 areas of fiscal concern within the Defense Department and argues that reforms led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are needed to curb spending that does not advance warfighting goals.
The end of the fiscal year has long been marked by a rush to spend all Congress-appropriated funds, a practice critics call the use-it-or-lose-it mindset. The Defense Department has requested a record 961.6 billion for fiscal year 2026, and September spending is often the heaviest of the year. Since 2008, both Republican and Democratic administrations have spent September at more than double the normal monthly rate. In September 2008, under President George W. Bush, the Pentagon recorded 85.4 billion in contracts and grants. In September 2018, during Trump s first term, the month saw 63.3 billion, and in September 2019, 59.4 billion. In September 2024, near the end of Biden s tenure, the spree reached 79 billion. In the last five days of that fiscal year, the Pentagon burned through 33.1 billion. What taxpayers bought last September included 6.1 million in lobster tail, 30.1 million in books, newspapers and periodicals, and 211.7 million in new furniture, expenditures that critics say reflected luxury purchases rather than lethality.
Hegseth has the authority to rein in spending by directing commanders and procurement officers to be prudent, to reject dubious contracts, and to favor discipline over indulgence. He has already begun cutting waste; in February he said the Pentagon would find 50 billion in savings, and in March he canceled more than 580 million in contracts and programs tied to diversity, equity and inclusion and decarbonization efforts. In May he added about 5.1 billion in further cuts for what he described as ancillary services and nonessential spending, along with additional DEI-related trims.
Open the Books has long tracked spending in the Pentagon Education Activity, the DoD Education Activity budget that supports DoDEA schools worldwide and serves about 67,000 military dependents. The 2.3 billion budget translates to about 34,328 dollars per pupil per year, higher than many states. Critics say some of that budget supports social engineering projects rather than core subjects, citing a 2022 DoDEA teacher conference in which staff discussed gender transitions away from military parents.
Ending use-it-or-lose-it this September would signal a commitment to responsible budgeting, observers say. Ideally Congress would allow more carryover or redirect unspent funds to critical defense priorities, but the administration has not hesitated to exercise what it regards as budget authority. If the administration can pause less essential programs such as foreign food aid or life-saving HIV drug deliveries, some argue it should pause orders for lobster tails and other discretionary expenditures as well.
Taxpayers and potential adversaries alike are watching as the year closes, underscoring a broader political debate over the size and pace of U.S. defense spending.