At a Glance
- Case Type
- Other
- Jurisdiction
- Federal, Washington, D.C.
- Date
- 2023-07-25
- Status
- Pending
Commander, President Joe Biden's German shepherd, bit several U.S. Secret Service agents a total of 10 times during a four-month span between October 2022 and January 2023, according to records reviewed by NPR. At least one incident required an agent to be transported to the hospital for treatment. The disclosures surfaced through internal agency correspondence and set off questions about workplace safety protocols at the White House complex.
The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit to obtain access to 194 pages of emails and texts in which Secret Service agents and officials described aggressive encounters with Commander. The email correspondence, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, reflected 10 documented incidents. The names of most agents and officials in the records were redacted. The litigation placed the Secret Service's internal deliberations about the dog into the public record for the first time.
The disclosed records detail a pattern of escalating encounters. On Oct. 26, Commander charged at an agent while on a walk with first lady Jill Biden, who could not regain control of the dog. Days later, on Nov. 3, Commander bit an officer twice, once on the arm and, when the officer stood up, on the leg. A November 2022 incident resulted in an officer being hospitalized after the dog clamped down on their arms and thighs, according to CNN, which corroborated the NPR reporting. Secret Service agents are not responsible for handling first family pets, but they routinely come into contact with them in the course of their duties.
By the end of 2022, Commander's behavior had been brought to the attention of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, the emails show. The Secret Service stated that it takes the safety of its employees "extremely seriously" and that, as in prior administrations, biting incidents involving first family pets were treated as workplace injuries. Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said the Bidens were "working through ways to make this situation better for everyone" and had been partnering with the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff on additional leashing protocols and training.
Commander was not the first Biden dog to bite White House staff. Major, a German shepherd adopted from a shelter and brought to the White House in 2021, was involved in separate biting incidents and was ultimately sent to live with family friends for safety reasons. Commander arrived at the White House as a puppy in December 2021, a birthday gift from Biden's brother James. The recurrence of biting incidents across two successive Biden dogs drew renewed scrutiny to the question of whether adequate policies exist for managing animals in a high-security federal workplace.
References
[1] NPR. (2023, July 25). Biden's dog, Commander, has been biting Secret Service agents. https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1189957208/biden-dog-commander-bites-secret-service-agents
[2] CNN. (2023, September 26). Commander Biden bites another Secret Service agent, the 11th known incident. https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/politics/commander-biden-biting-incident/index.html
[3] ABC News. (2023, September 27). Biden's dog Commander bites another Secret Service officer in 11th incident. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bidens-dog-commander-bites-secret-service-agent/story?id=103507937