Chuck Schumer criticizes Hegseth Pentagon spending despite Austin’s record

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing backlash for criticizing War Secretary Pete Hegseth for Pentagon spending on luxury items, including food for the military, despite similar spending under former Biden administration Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.

The Senate’s top Democrat said Hegseth’s spending in the final month of fiscal 2025, $93.4 billion, including millions of dollars on steaks, seafood and furniture, could have been used to extend the Affordable Care Act.

Social media users criticized Schumer online for his remarks, accusing him of choosing a politically convenient area to worry about spending, castigating him for not supporting feeding high-quality meals to the military and citing similar defense spending during the Biden era.

“Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS,” Schumer wrote. “But instead of reducing health care costs in the United States, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars to buy fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan king crabs and a Steinway & Sons grand piano.

TRUMP SAYS HE BELIEVES HEGSETH ‘100%’ ON DENIAL OF VENEZUELAN DRUG STRIKE AMID ALLEGATIONS

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, March 3, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“A true crook in every sense of the word.”

Under the Biden administration, Austin’s spending nearly mirrored Hegseth’s. Food spending across administrations went toward feeding members of the military, according to the nonprofit Open the Books, which conducted the spending analyses.

There is no record of Schumer scrutinizing Austin’s spending. Fox News Digital has reached out to the senator’s office for comment on the matter.

Defense spending is historically modest compared to previous decades, accounting for a small fraction of U.S. gross domestic product, 3.7 percent. Its share of GDP has declined significantly since the 1950s, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Schumer’s grievances also come as he leads Senate Democrats’ resistance to funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shuttered for about a month. Democrats have demanded changes to the department’s deportation policies, which is a failure for Republicans. Core components of DHS, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, remain operational at this point, but some agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration, are facing challenges because workers aren’t getting paid.

Critics slammed Schumer for the comment on social media.

Fox News analyst Guy Benson called Schumer “the leader of the ‘Learing Center’ fraud party,” in reference to a viral video about Minnesota’s welfare fraud scandals, saying Schumer “finally [discovered] an item of expenditure that he is ready to reduce. »

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said Schumer “thinks it’s bad that American troops can eat steak and lobster while deployed” and that the Affordable Care Act is a “failed” plan that makes health care more expensive.

“Remember, Democrats would like you to eat MREs,” another commenter posted, referring to the “Meals Ready to Eat” released by the military.

“Chuck Schumer hates the troops,” wrote Republican communicator Steve Guest.

A commentator for the conservative Washington Examiner said, “You haven’t said anything in 2024.”

Another social media user told Schumer he “should have done 30 seconds of research to find Lloyd Austin’s expenses in September 2024 before posting them. I missed your outrage back then.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon October 30, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia. (Getty Images)

Hegseth’s spending in September 2025 was the most the Pentagon had seen on grants and contracts since September 2008. Austin, however, held the record before that, spending $79.1 billion in September 2024.

The last month of the fiscal year has long been known for seemingly lavish spending as agencies face pressure to “use it or lose it” so they can justify maintaining their budget for the following year. Contract and grant payment schedules also include September due dates, which may contribute to increased spending.

In 2024, under Austin, according to an Open the Books audit, “the military spent $103.7 million on meat, fish and poultry in September, in part because it ordered raw lobster tails 147 times for $6.1 million.” It also lost $16.6 million on ribeye, $6.4 million on salmon and $407,000 on Alaskan king crab.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s spending for September 2025 was reviewed in 2026. (Julia Démarée Nikhinson/AP)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Similar to Austin, Hegseth spent $6.9 million on lobster tail, Open the Books found. Austin spent about $1.5 million more than Hegseth on ribeye. Hegseth more than quadrupled Austin’s spending on Alaskan king crab, while Austin’s spending on salmon was about six times that of Hegseth. The food was intended to feed military personnel, the nonprofit noted.

Pentagon spending by the Biden and Trump administrations has also paralleled other items. Hegseth’s $5.3 million on Apple products is comparable to Austin’s $5.1 million. Both have spent more than $1 million on musical instruments. Hegseth tripled Austin’s spending on footstools, to about $111,000, according to the data.

Fox News Digital contacted Biden’s office and the Pentagon.