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A senior House Republican demanded Wednesday that the White House comply with workplace safety laws to protect federal employees from President Biden’s bite-prone dog, Commander.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said the predatory pup’s bites — including one that sent a Secret Service agent to the hospital — are indications that “occupational hazards are prevalent at the White House.”
That, she said, violates the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which requires every federal agency to maintain a safe workplace and to self-report violations to the Labor Department, which then decides whether to investigate.
Ms. Foxx, North Carolina Republican, said the public deserves to know if that happened, particularly at the White House, the pinnacle of federal agencies.
“The White House has the responsibility to set an example for ensuring workplace safety and health for its employees. Unfortunately, it has recently come to our attention that it is failing to uphold this responsibility,” she wrote.
Her letter came after reports that Commander has been removed from the White House following repeated attacks on employees at the White House. Secret Service agents have been particular targets for the dog, though other staffers have been gnawed by the dog.
The Washington Times has reached out to the White House for comment.
Commander, a German shepherd, is the second Biden dog to be banished. Major, another German shepherd, was sent away earlier after repeated biting attacks.
Ms. Foxx cited in her letter at least 12 press-confirmed dog bites.
CNN reported last week that while the Secret Service has acknowledged 11 biting attacks, the actual tally is higher because staffers other than agents have also been tagged by Commander.
The bites were of varying severity, with some going unreported and others requiring medical intervention.
A White House spokeswoman told CNN that “Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.”
The dog bites have been an ongoing embarrassment to the White House.
After Commander’s banishment hit the news last week, The New York Times said “insiders” were wondering why the president waited so long in the face of overwhelming evidence. At The Washington Post, a columnist opined that it was troubling for the president to give his dog 11 do-overs.
“There’s a familiar sense of entitlement in this Commander business,” columnist Matt Bai write.
Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog, has been using open-records laws to pry loose documents about Commander’s behavior. In July it found records of 10 attacks against the Secret Service dating from October 2022 to 2023.
“He bit me twice and ran at me twice,” one Secret Service officer said in a 2022 email to a colleague describing bites on an arm and leg.
“What a joke,” the other replied. “If it wasn’t their dog he would already have been put down — freaking clown needs a muzzle.”
Judicial Watch also claimed that Mr. Biden abused the dog.
“Let’s be blunt: the dangerous dog could kill someone,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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