参议院民主党人无视拜登政府五角大楼负责人790亿美元的挥霍，其中包括1.03亿美元用于肉类和海鲜
作者：阿什利·奥利弗
来源：福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年3月12日 美国东部时间下午3:23
参议院少数党领袖、纽约州民主党人查克·舒默因批评国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯五角大楼在奢侈品上的开支（包括为军方采购食品）而遭到抨击，尽管拜登政府时期五角大楼负责人劳埃德·奥斯汀也有类似支出。
这位参议院高级民主党人表示，赫格塞斯在2025财年最后一个月花费了934亿美元，其中包括数百万美元用于牛排、海鲜和家具，这些资金本可以用于延长《平价医疗法案》（Affordable Care Act）。
社交媒体用户抨击舒默的言论，指责他选择性关注政治便利的支出领域，抨击他不支持为军人提供高质量餐食，并指出拜登时期也有类似的国防支出。
舒默写道：“赫格塞斯一个月就花了930亿美元——大约相当于延长《平价医疗法案》税收抵免三年的成本。”“但赫格塞斯没有降低美国人的医疗成本，反而用数百万纳税人的钱购买了水果篮、赫曼米勒（Herman Miller）躺椅、冰淇淋机、阿拉斯加帝王蟹和斯坦威（Steinway & Sons）三角钢琴。
“从任何意义上说，他都是一个真正的骗子。”
根据进行支出分析的非营利组织“公开账本”（Open the Books）的数据，在拜登政府时期，奥斯汀的支出几乎与赫格塞斯的持平。各届政府的食品支出都用于为军人提供餐食。
没有记录显示舒默曾审视奥斯汀的支出。福克斯新闻数字版已联系参议员办公室请求置评。
国防支出与过去几十年相比历史上较为适度，占美国国内生产总值（GDP）的3.7%。根据圣路易斯联邦储备银行的分析，自20世纪50年代以来，其占GDP的比例显著下降。
舒默的不满还源于他领导参议院民主党人抵制为国土安全部（DHS）提供资金，该部门已关闭约一个月。民主党人要求改变该部门的驱逐政策，这对共和党人来说是不可能接受的。国土安全部的关键部门，如移民和海关执法局（ICE）目前仍在运作，但一些机构，如运输安全管理局（TSA），因工作人员无薪而面临困境。
批评者在社交媒体上抨击舒默的言论。
福克斯新闻分析师盖伊·本森（Guy Benson）称舒默是“‘学习中心’欺诈党的领袖”，暗指明尼苏达州福利欺诈丑闻的一段 viral 视频，称舒默“终于[发现]了一项他愿意削减的支出项目”。
德克萨斯州共和党众议员帕特·法伦（Pat Fallon）表示，舒默“认为美军在部署期间能吃到牛排和龙虾是件坏事”，并称《平价医疗法案》是“失败的”计划，使医疗成本更高。
“记住，民主党人会让你吃即食口粮（MREs），”另一位评论者留言，暗指军用“即食餐”（Meals Ready to Eat）。
共和党传播专家史蒂夫·格斯特（Steve Guest）写道：“查克·舒默恨军队。”
《保守派华盛顿观察家报》的一位评论员表示：“你在2024年什么都没说。”
另一位社交媒体用户告诉舒默，“在发帖前，你本应花30秒做些研究，看看劳埃德·奥斯汀2024年9月的支出。你当时没有表现出愤怒。”
赫格塞斯2025年9月的支出是五角大楼自2008年9月以来在赠款和合同上的最高支出。而在此之前，奥斯汀保持着这一纪录，2024年9月支出791亿美元。
财政年度的最后一个月历来因机构面临“不花光就失去”的压力（以便证明下一年保留预算的合理性）而被指责为挥霍无度。合同和赠款支付计划也包含9月到期的条款，这也可能导致支出增加。
根据“公开账本”的审计，2024年奥斯汀执政期间，“军方在9月花费了1.037亿美元用于肉类、鱼类和家禽，部分原因是他们以610万美元的价格订购了147次生龙虾尾。此外，还花费了1660万美元购买肋眼牛排，640万美元购买三文鱼，40.7万美元购买阿拉斯加帝王蟹。”
“公开账本”发现，与奥斯汀类似，赫格塞斯在龙虾尾上花费了690万美元。奥斯汀在肋眼牛排上的支出比赫格塞斯多约150万美元。赫格塞斯在阿拉斯加帝王蟹上的支出是奥斯汀的四倍多，而奥斯汀在三文鱼上的支出大约是赫格塞斯的六倍。该非营利组织指出，这些食品用于喂养军事人员。
拜登和特朗普政府的五角大楼支出在其他项目上也有相似之处。赫格塞斯在苹果产品上花费的530万美元与奥斯汀的510万美元相当。两人在乐器上的支出都超过100万美元。数据显示，赫格塞斯在脚凳上的支出是奥斯汀的三倍，约11.1万美元。
福克斯新闻数字版已联系拜登办公室和五角大楼请求置评。
阿什利·奥利弗是福克斯新闻数字版和福克斯商业频道的记者，报道司法部和法律事务。请将新闻线索发送至 ashley.oliver@fox.com。
Schumer swings at Hegseth over king crab meals for the troops, but Biden-era receipts show similar tab
Senate Democrat ignores Biden Pentagon chief’s $79B spending spree that included $103M on meat and seafood
By Ashley Oliver
Fox News
Published March 12, 2026 3:23pm EDT
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing backlash for criticizing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for the Pentagon’s spending on luxury items, including food for the miliary, despite similar expenses under former Biden administration Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.
The top Senate Democrat said Hegseth’s spending in the final month of fiscal year 2025, $93.4 billion, which included millions of dollars on steak, seafood and furniture, could have instead been used to extend the Affordable Care Act.
Social media users panned Schumer online for the remarks, accusing him of cherry-picking a politically convenient area to care about spending, lambasting him for not supporting feeding high-quality meals to military members 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 lowering American’s healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano.
“A true grifter in every sense of the word.”
During the Biden administration, Austin’s spending nearly mirrored Hegseth’s. Food expenses 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 reached out to the senator’s office for comment on the matter.
Defense spending is historically modest compared to past decades, representing a small fraction of the United States’ gross domestic product at 3.7%. Its share of the GDP has decreased significantly since the 1950s, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Schumer’s grievance also comes as he leads Senate Democrats’ resistance to funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for about a month. Democrats have demanded changes to the department’s deportation policies, which are nonstarters for Republicans. Essential DHS components, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, remain operational at this stage, but some agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration, are facing pains as workers go unpaid.
Critics slammed Schumer over 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 welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota, saying Schumer “finally [discovered] one spending line item he’s willing to cut.”
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said Schumer “thinks it’s bad that U.S. troops get to eat steak & lobster during deployment” and that the Affordable Care Act is a “failed” plan that makes healthcare more expensive.
“Remember that Democrats would have you eating MREs,” another commenter posted, referring to military-issued “Meals Ready to Eat.”
“Chuck Schumer hates the troops,” Republican communicator Steve Guest wrote.
A commentary writer for the conservative Washington Examiner said, “You said nothing in 2024.”
Another social media user told Schumer he “should’ve done the 30 seconds of research to find Lloyd Austin’s September 2024 expenditures before posting. Missed your outrage back then.”
Hegseth’s spending in September 2025 was the highest the Pentagon has 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 notorious for spending that appears lavish as agencies face pressure to “use it or lose it” so that they can justify keeping their budget for the next year. Contract and grant payment schedules also include September due dates, which can contribute to the spending uptick.
In 2024 under Austin, according to an audit by Open the Books, “the military spent $103.7 million on meat, fish and poultry in September, partially because it ordered raw lobster tail 147 times for $6.1 million. It also dropped $16.6 million on ribeye steak, $6.4 million on salmon and $407,000 on Alaskan king crab.”
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 steaks. Hegseth more than quadrupled Austin’s spending on Alaskan king crab, while Austin’s spending on salmon was roughly six times that of Hegseth’s. The food went toward feeding military personnel, the nonprofit noted.
The Biden and Trump administration’s Pentagon expenses saw parallels for other line items, too. Hegseth’s $5.3 million on Apple products is comparable to Austin’s $5.1 million. Both spent more than $1 million on musical instruments. Hegseth tripled Austin’s spending on footrests at about $111,000, according to the data.
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office and the Pentagon.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.