A new scandal has clawed its way to Washington, and the left-leaning media are salivating so much about this story that they grabbed a lobster bib. The latest fire and fury on CNN, MS NOW, and late-night talk shows is called Lobstergate, a purported outrage that spilled the bisque on decadence at the Pentagon.
The Lobstergate Setup
Here is what happened: TMZ combed through a recent analysis by government watchdog Open the Books and learned that the Department of Defense spent around $22 million on lobster tail, king crab, ribeye steak, salmon, doughnuts, and ice cream machines last September.
Longtime CNN personality Paul Begala caught wind of this story and misled viewers during a recent airing of The Source with Kaitlin Collins. He insinuated that these surf-and-turf meals were for none other than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a shellfish official for hogging all the king crab.
“He spent more in the month of September than most countries on Earth spent in their defense. All for himself! Lobster tails!? While our troops are eating MREs [Meals, Ready-to-Eat]!? Lobster tails!?” Begala told fellow panelist Scott Jennings. Funny enough, Jennings urged the internet to do its thing after informing Begala that the soldiers were the ones eating lobster, not Hegseth.
Unsurprisingly, Begala’s comments sparked a flurry of social media mockery. But the chorus of late-night talk show hosts ostensibly only perused Bluesky and joined in on the mendacity without digging a bit deeper. "What is this, My 600lb Defense Department?" Kimmel asked.
The reality of the situation is vastly different than what the mainstream media peddled.
Truth Is Different From Fiction
So, what is really going on over at the Pentagon?
In the final month of fiscal year 2025, the Department of Defense exhausted its remaining budget to prevent future funding cuts. It is a standard practice employed by federal agencies across the board, known as "use-it-or-lose-it." The Open the Books report found that the DoD spent more than $93 billion in a single month on not just food, but also furniture ($225 million), grand pianos ($98,329), Apple devices ($5.3 million), and fruit basket stands ($12,540).
Fiscal mismanagement? For a department that receives almost $1 trillion a year and has not passed an audit in years, critics would likely argue that this is evidence of pure waste and abuse.
That said, a $22 million price tag for approximately 1.3 million active-duty personnel totals about $17 per person. It is a small cost and a treat for soldiers who have to fight in regime change and undeclared wars in faraway lands that lead to blowback, destabilization, death, inflation, and debt.
Additionally, surf-and-turf meals are a military tradition for soldiers enduring an extended tour or while on deployment. In fact, many veterans have shared these stories on X, including James Gagliano, a retired Supervisory FBI Special Agent and a 1987 West Point graduate who deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003.
“I enjoyed ‘steak night’ in Mess Hall every Thursday for four years as West Point cadet between ’83 and ’87. Highlight of week. During three short deployments to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2003, I enjoyed steak and crab legs once a week (when available) in Mess Hall on Bagram Air Base. Was rare treat from typical MRE fare. Do some in media want us to feel ‘guilty?’”
Previous administrations have done the same thing for the men and women in uniform. In January 2025, RealClearInvestigation reported that the Defense Department, under then-Secretary Lloyd Austin, spent almost $104 million on meat, fish, and poultry in September 2024, including more than $6 million on lobster tails. CNN did not claim Austin was eating all that fish or howl at the moon about Lobstergate.
Walking on Seashells
Rather than airing their grievances about feeding troops good meals, the talking heads could have called out the decades-long waste at the Pentagon. Instead, perhaps due to the side effects of TDS, they attempted to garner political points by absurdly asserting that Hegseth is spending tax dollars to eviscerate the lobster supply in the Atlantic Ocean.
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