Biden Family Dog Has Bit Secret Service Agents At Least 24 Times: Documents

Biden Family Dog Has Bit Secret Service Agents At Least 24 Times: Documents
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden with their new dog, Commander, in the White House in Washington on Dec. 25, 2021. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Savannah Hulsey Pointer
2/22/2024
Updated:
2/23/2024
0:00

President Joe Biden’s family dog, Commander, is said to have bitten or attempted to bite members of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) on at least 24 separate incidents at the White House and other locations, according to newly released documents from the USSS.

The documents (pdf) were obtained by a journalist who published them after receiving hundreds of pages of internal emails and other correspondence late last year, under the Freedom of Information Act.

The documents include the extent to which the first family’s dog has troubled staffers at the White House and how personnel have worked to avoid injury by the German shepherd.

During the first incident that was documented, a member of the USSS stated that they were holding a door open to the Palm Room on the West Colonnade side of the building when President Biden walked in accompanied by Commander.

“Commander and POTUS were entering the Palm Room through the West Colonnade. Commander came in first, circled back and grabbed my left arm,” the report read. “He then stood up and back down. He is literally my height, standing.”

The president entered the room shortly after the agent’s arm was bitten by the dog.

Documents indicate that the altercations with the Biden family pet occurred in various locations, including the White House, Wilmington, Delaware, Camp David, and President Biden’s beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Commander attacked a staff member on the left forearm on Dec. 23, 2022, as the first family was returning from the tennis pavilion. Fortunately, the individual was dressed in multiple layers of clothing, so the dog failed to inflict any visible injuries.

Then, on June 11, 2023, when First Lady Jill Biden moved from the Cabana to the Oval Dining Room, the family pet attacked an agent. According to the documents, while the agent was holding the dining room door for the first lady, Commander charged onto him, biting his chest. The agent sustained two minor lacerations and a torn shift from Commander.

The USSS requested in an email to the staff three days later that all incidents involving confrontations with the first family dog be documented. Another agent was assaulted on June 15, 2023, this time with a “severe deep open wound” to the left arm, necessitating the use of sutures.

Due to the severity of the injury, East Wing excursions were halted for twenty minutes so that personnel could conduct blood cleanup on the floor. Following that, the USSS re-emailed team members regarding interactions with Commander.

The White House grounds were cleared of the German shepherd by September 2023.

Shortly thereafter, in October of last year, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) called on the president and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to hand over information about workplace accidents and injuries at the White House following reports of the dog bites.
In her Oct. 11 letter (pdf), Ms. Foxx said the “White House is responsible for setting an example when it comes to ensuring workplace safety and health for its employees” but reports suggest it is “failing to uphold this responsibility.”

The North Carolina lawmaker appeared to reference the numerous reports that President Biden’s 2-year-old German shepherd, Commander, has displayed aggressive behavior toward White House personnel.

At that time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records obtained and released by watchdog group Judicial Watch just a few months earlier had already indicated that the dog was involved in at least 10 biting incidents.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.