Start Cutting Waste at the Pentagon—Not From Hungry Americans

If you are serious about eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse” from the budget, then start where the waste actually is: the Pentagon. According to reporting by The New Republic, citing government watchdog Open the Books, the Department of Defense burned through $93.4 billion in September 2025 alone. Even more shocking, over $50 billion was spent in just the final five days of the month in a frantic rush to exhaust the budget rather than return unused funds to taxpayers. This wasn’t spending on urgent national security needs. It was spending on excess and absurdity. Among the purchases taxpayers were forced to fund: • $98,329 for a Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force Chief of Staff’s home • $5.3 million on Apple devices such as iPads • $2 million for Alaskan king crab • $6.9 million for lobster tail • $15.1 million for ribeye steak in a single month • $124,000 for ice cream machines • $139,224 for 272 orders of doughnuts Meanwhile, in October 2025, the administration claimed it could not fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to a government shutdown. Millions of Americans lost food benefits. Think about the moral failure here: luxury seafood and steak for the Pentagon while families in this country lose the ability to put food on their tables. This is exactly the warning Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the nation decades ago: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies… a theft from those who hunger and are not fed.” Those words are not abstract philosophy. They describe exactly what is happening today. Americans are constantly told there is no money for: • schools • healthcare • veterans’ services • housing • infrastructure • feeding hungry families But somehow there is always money for Pentagon luxuries and endless war. This is unacceptable. If Congress and the White House truly want to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, then you must: 1. Launch an immediate investigation into the Pentagon’s September spending spree. 2. Audit the Department of Defense’s procurement practices and end the “use it or lose it” spending binge. 3. Redirect wasted funds toward infrastructure, healthcare, and programs that actually serve the American people. 4. Stop treating military excess as untouchable while cutting basic survival programs for working families. American taxpayers deserve accountability. Hungry families should not be told there is “no money” while their government buys lobster, steak, and luxury pianos. Start cutting waste where it actually exists.