The U.S. Navy under President Joe Biden spent hundreds of dollars on a luxury bidet complete with a remote control and a massaging feature, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon through a public records request.
A December 2021 government requisition order obtained by the Free Beacon shows the Navy spent $553 on Bio Bidet's BB-1000 bidet seat attachment for a toilet on the USNS Yuma, a high-speed military transport ship.
The $553 bidet, which retailer Bidet King described as having a "rabid cult following" because it has "the absolute strongest spray pressure of any electronic bidet seat on the market," boasts a slew of features such as an "effective enema function" to go with its high price tag. A brochure for the bidet says the BB-1000 comes with a heated seat, a blow dryer, a remote control, a deodorizer, and several spray functions, including "pulsating massage" and "turbo wash," which is described as a "whirly mass of soft water spray to stimulate bowel movement."
The Navy's costly purchase of a bidet, a hygiene product that most Americans have never used in their lives, came just months after a watchdog report commissioned by members of Congress found that insufficient funding for shipbuilding has left the Navy unprepared for a potential conflict with China. The report's authors called for greater investment in shipbuilding to compete with China, which now has the world's largest navy.
The BB-1000 bidet that the Navy purchased for the Yuma is considerably more expensive than commonly purchased models. At the time of publishing, Amazon's best-selling bidet costs $22.99, roughly 4 percent of the cost of the BB-1000.
The supply officer for the Yuma requested the purchase of the bidet, communication records show, for a shipboard toilet. The Yuma, a transport ship, entered active service in 2017 and has been deployed in recent years to the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, which has become a war zone since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. At the time of writing, the Yuma is moored at a naval base on the coast of the Greek island of Crete, according to a marine traffic website.
It is unclear exactly how and where the bidet is being used. The Military Sealift Command, which oversees the Navy's transport ships, confirmed the Navy purchased the bidet but declined to provide further details on why it was needed on the Yuma. Transport ships like the Yuma normally carry a crew of 26 civilian mariners, according to the Navy.
Navy veterans who spoke with the Free Beacon said they had never encountered a bidet on a U.S. ship. Typically, plumbing on military ships is relatively simple and built for durability over comfort, even in the private bathrooms for officers. A 2020 government report on Navy sustainment costs that investigated the maintenance of toilet and sewage systems made no mention of bidets.
The Navy's luxury bidet purchase is unlikely to alleviate concerns about the branch's focus on combat effectiveness. The Free Beacon reported in June that the Navy is training sailors to create a "safe space" by using proper gender pronouns.