Rep. Virginia Foxx demands White House workplace safety records amid rampant dog bites

House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is examining workplace safety conditions at the White House after reports emerged that President Biden’s dog, Commander, has bitten numerous personnel at the executive mansion. 

There have been 12 documented biting incidents involving the 2-year-old German shepherd since 2021, Foxx notes in a letter sent to the 80-year-old president and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on Wednesday, which questions whether Occupational Safety and Health Act standards are being met at the White House. 

“The White House has the responsibility to set an example for ensuring workplace safety and health for its employees,” Foxx writes. “Unfortunately, it has recently come to our attention that it is failing to uphold this responsibility.”

Commander has reportedly bitten people at the White House 12 times since 2021. Foxx (R-NC) is calling for the White House and Labor Department to release records of workplace injuries at the Executive Mansion.Xinhua/Shutterstock

“I write to ensure that the White House is maintaining compliance with OSHA’s standards and guidance and is doing so at the same level that the federal government expects of private entities,” the lawmaker adds. 

Foxx argues that the recent reports about Commander’s biting proclivity indicate that “occupational hazards are prevalent at the White House.” 

“The White House should not embrace an attitude of ‘rules for thee, but not for me’ when it comes to workplace safety,” Foxx writes, demanding information related to workplace accidents and injuries at the White House so Congress can “ensure the White House is living up to its expectations of the private sector.”

As of last week, Commander is no longer living at the White House, amid complaints over the dog’s behavior. 

Commander was removed from the White House last week. AFP via Getty Images

Eleven of the dog bites have reportedly involved members of Biden’s Secret Service staff.

“We’re beyond the point of worrying about trust being broken. We have to speak up,” a source familiar with the president’s Secret Service detail told CNN last week. 

A Secret Service supervisor reportedly warned agents that Commander had bitten staffers in a large number of incidents over the summer, the source said, while describing the job as “hostile” and “dangerous.”

Agents use their radios to alert one another when Commander is outside and warn their colleagues to avoid certain areas or entrances where he may be, according to the source.

Commander is the second of Biden’s dogs to be evicted from the White House.

The president’s older dog Major, also a German shepherd, was previously removed over similar poor behavior.

Commander was gifted to the first family on the same day Major was given to family friends after biting multiple Secret Service members in 2021.