Pete Hegseth spent $6.9 million on lobster and $124,000 on ice cream – now he’s calling reports of starving sailors ‘fake news’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism after trying to dismiss concerns about poor food supplies for sailors on US warships. Relatives of military members deployed to the Middle East who raised concerns about the food being served. Photos showing what appeared to be very small portions quickly spread online and caused widespread outrage.

Instead of addressing the issue, Hegseth posted on X to defend himself, claiming that the ships have “30+ days of Class I supplies (food) on board.” According to The Daily Beast, he also shared a post from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, which denied that there were any food shortages on the ships. His response did little to calm people down and only raised more questions about whether the military’s food situation was being handled properly.

Hegseth also compared the media to the Pharisees, a Jewish religious group often shown in the New Testament as opposing Jesus. Fred Guttenberg, a gun control advocate and father of a Parkland school shooting victim, pushed back hard, writing: “Are you saying that Jews run the press and are trying to harm the military?” Many accused Hegseth of using language that plays into antisemitic tropes, adding yet another layer of controversy to the situation.

Pentagon’s luxury spending stands in sharp contrast to sailors going hungry

Government watchdog Open the Books found that the Defense Department spent over $93 billion in September 2025 on various grants, contracts, and other items. This included $6.9 million on lobster tail, $1 million on salmon, $124,000 on ice cream machines, nearly $140,000 on doughnuts, and more than $12,000 on fruit baskets. 

The sharp contrast between this level of spending and the food complaints from deployed sailors made the backlash against Hegseth even worse. Much of this spending is tied to “use-it-or-lose-it” budget rules, where departments rush to spend leftover money at the end of the year rather than return it to the Treasury.

The Defense Department’s budget was under a continuing resolution for much of 2025, which left more money unspent in the second half of the year. This is not the first time Hegseth has drawn fire, he has also faced repeated criticism for comparing media coverage to a biblical Jewish antagonist, a pattern that many find deeply troubling. 

The tradition of serving lobster and other higher-end foods to troops during deployments is meant to boost morale and give them a taste of home while they are away.  When asked about it, one retired Army officer with multiple combat tours told CNN, “I mean, it’s always disgusting, but I guess.” 

While the practice has long been a part of military culture, critics argue it looks especially bad given the current complaints about inadequate food on deployed ships. This is all happening while President Donald Trump has made cutting government spending a key goal of his second term.

His administration carried out mass layoffs across federal agencies last year to reduce costs. At the same time, Trump has pushed for major increases to the Pentagon’s budget, posting in January that the 2027 fiscal year budget should be $1.5 trillion, which would be roughly a 50% increase from current levels. Hegseth has faced a string of controversies in recent weeks.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that he gave President Trump misleading information about the war in Iran. He also drew widespread mockery after reading a Pulp Fiction quote as scripture at a Pentagon press briefing, a moment that many felt reflected poorly on his leadership. An AI image Trump posted of himself as Jesus, placed next to a photo of Hegseth, also went viral and added further ridicule to an already difficult stretch for the defense secretary.