Going green in the Obama administration has taken a new twist. President Obama has just ordered his top aide, newly minted Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, to stop biking to work.
“I have stopped biking to work,” Mr. McDonough said on NBC over the weekend, attributing the stoppage to a presidential order. The new chief of staff used to ride his bicycle to the White House while employed as Mr. Obama’s deputy national security adviser, The Hill reports.
But his new position carries a Cabinet-level title. And for security reasons, The Hill reports, the president says he has to put away the bike.
A sort of “free McDonough” rally has erupted. The League of American Bicyclists has petitioned Mr. Obama to allow him to continue his ride, via a “free the McDonough ten-speed” campaign, The Hill reports.
Mr. McDonough lives north of the White House in Takoma Park.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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