On March 24, the Biden family dogs returned to the White House after a few weeks of rest, relaxation, and behavior retraining for Major, the younger of their two German shepherds, after he was involved in a “biting incident” involving a Secret Service member earlier this month.
The homecoming was celebrated, perhaps a little facetiously, as a homecoming for Champ and Major, the latter of which was defended both by White House press secretary Jen Psaki and the president himself. But less than a week after their return, Major has struck again: On Tuesday, CNN reported that the three-year-old rescue bit another person, this time a National Park Service employee working on the South Lawn.
Responding to CNN, First Lady Jill Biden’s press secretary, Michael LaRosa, said that Major is “still adjusting to his new surroundings.” (The line is becoming something of a family go-to: Earlier this month, LaRosa said Major was “still getting acclimated and accustomed” to all the people.) LaRosa also revived the early-pandemic PR staple “out an abundance of caution” to describe the decision to send the National Park employee to the White House Medical Unit before returning “to work without injury.”
It’s unclear what the president and First Lady will do with their dogs; when Major is behaving well, they have become a homey image for their warm approach to White House living, after years of a less welcoming atmosphere at 1600 Pennsylvania. But earlier this month, Biden championed Major, saying that “he’s a sweet dog” loved by “85 percent of the people” who he encounters at work. That workplace math could soon change, given that the White House had to reset its “no biting incidents since March 8” sign back to zero after less than a week with Major back in town.
