(President Joe Biden’s dogs have been on a biting spree, and now an investigation is under way.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee has launched an investigation into the Occupational Safety and Health Administration raising the question: Is Biden’s dog getting special treatment while White House staff fear getting bitten?
Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent a letter to the Department of Labor acting head Julie Su Monday, a follow-up to a previous letter on the same issue.
“Recently, news reports say the number of known dog-bite incidents involving the President’s dog Commander and Secret Service employees has risen to 24,” the letter said. “In light of this new information, the Committee stresses that it is still concerned about the occupational safety and health program for all employees working at the White House and the Executive Office of the President (EOP).”
Secret Service members are reportedly suffering the brunt of the dog bites, with at least one having to get six stitches.
CNN reports the number is actually much higher than 24 and that Secret Service has had to change the way it operates to work around the dogs.
Biden’s other dog, Major, has reportedly had the same issue though not to the same extent.
The group Judicial Watch released 269 pages of Secret Service records last month on the issue obtained from Freedom of Information Act requests.
“After one incident, East Wing public tours were stopped for approximately 20 minutes due to the blood on the floor from the attack in the area of the ‘Booksellers,'” the group said in its release.
“A January 28, 2023, email chain discusses three biting incidents, ‘2 incidents today and one yesterday,'” it continued. “Later that day, a Presidential Protection Division official whose name is redacted emails Senior White House Advisor Anthony Bernal that ‘Commander bit one of the Navy Staff’ who worked at Camp David.”
Foxx’s letter raises questions about whether the White House is getting a pass on federal reporting requirements for these kinds of incidents.
The White House press team did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
“As I stated in my prior letters, the White House should not embrace an attitude of ‘rules for thee, but not for me’ when it comes to workplace safety,” Foxx wrote.
She noted that, according to the Congressional Budget Submission for FY2024, Biden’s office had “just over 2,000 full-time equivalent employees” and expressed surprise that there was no data from the Labor Department about the biting incidents, given the size of the staff.
“The Committee has an interest in ensuring that the White House is providing the same protections to its workforce that it demands of the private sector,” Foxx wrote. “Furthermore, the Committee has an interest in ensuring that [the Labor Department] has accurate data on the EOP and the White House.”
