So, here's a fun way to spend taxpayer money: fruit baskets, fancy recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crab, and a grand piano. Oh, and also $93 billion in a single month. That's the record-setting tab that has Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling Pentagon official Pete Hegseth a "true grifter in every sense of the word."

On Tuesday, Schumer took to X to share details from Pentagon budget reports, highlighting what he says is the largest monthly spending spree since 2008. "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."

Pentagon reports confirmed at least $2 million went to Alaskan King Crab alone. The Department of War, by the way, hasn't responded to requests for comment yet.

Schumer wasn't the only one piling on. California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office shared a mocking image on X of Hegseth surrounded by luxury items, with the caption: "HEGSETH BLOWING $93 BILLION OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS IN 1 MONTH !!" Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) also chimed in, criticizing the spending that included cable TV, furniture, high-end seafood, steaks, desserts, and musical instruments. She emphasized that Congress plans to investigate these purchases.

All this comes amid some other shuffling in national security roles. Last week, Kristi Noem was removed as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary after a dispute with President Donald Trump over a $220 million border security ad campaign. Markwayne Mullin has been named as her replacement, while Noem was reassigned to a newly created role as special envoy for the "Shield of the Americas."

Meanwhile, Hegseth has been busy on other fronts. Last year, he warned major defense contractors – including Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), Boeing Co. (BA), and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) – to speed up weapons development or risk becoming obsolete. He even created a "deal team" within the Wartime Production Unit to boost production. At the same time, he signed a memo cutting over $580 million in Pentagon contracts and programs, calling that spending "not a good use of taxpayer dollars" and stressing the need for transparency.

So, to recap: one part of the Pentagon is slashing contracts in the name of fiscal responsibility, while another part is buying enough crab and pianos to make a senator's blood boil. It's the kind of contradiction that makes you wonder how the books even balance – or if they do at all.