JD Vance blames Secret Service over raising of Ohio river level to accommodate VP’s birthday kayaking trip

Vice President JD Vance’s office said the Secret Service requested that water levels in an Ohio river be raised to accommodate a birthday kayaking trip and the Republican was unaware.

Vance was on a family vacation in south-western Ohio last week, and spotted by locals kayaking down the Little Miami River on his birthday on August 2, when he turned 41.

The Secret Service requested that Army Corps engineers change the outflow of Caesar Creek Lake, which feeds into the river, to “support safe navigation” of Vance’s security detail, The Guardian first reported.

An anonymous source told the newspaper the request was also made to create “ideal kayaking conditions” for the vice president, according to the report.

A source familiar with the matter denied that claim to The Independent.

During a Secret Service scouting mission of the area with local public safety officials ahead of Vance’s trip, one of the boats ran aground, the source said. The decision to raise the water levels was made for security reasons, the source claimed.

The vice president was unaware the water level had been raised, according to a Vance spokesperson. “The Secret Service often employs protective measures without the knowledge of the Vice President or his staff, as was the case last weekend,” the spokesperson told The Independent.

A Secret Service spokesperson previously told The Independent it coordinated with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that Vance’s security detail could “operate safely with appropriate water levels during a recent visit.”

In early August, aligning with the dates Vance was in the area, there was a sudden increase in the river level and a corresponding drop in Caesar Creek Lake’s water surface elevation, according to public data on the U.S. Geological Survey website.

Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Gene Pawlik said that a request was received to “temporarily increase outflows from Caesar Creek Lake to support safe navigation of U.S. Secret Service personnel.”

Critics said it appeared hypocritical of Vance to receive “special treatment” for his family vacation in the beauty spot when his administration has overseen drastic job cuts in the National Park Service.

“It’s outrageous for the Army corps of engineers to spend taxpayer money to increase water flow in a river so @VP can go canoeing when budget cuts to the National Park Service have severely impacted family vacations for everyone else,” ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who served in George W. Bush’s administration, reacted in a post on X.

Certain accommodations have been made for the vice president’s family on other trips around the globe. During a recent trip to Italy, the Roman Colosseum was closed to the public so that his wife, Usha, and their children could take a tour, sparking anger among some tourists. The Taj Mahal also was closed to visitors during the Vance family’s visit to India.

Protesters have also frequently crashed Vance’s family vacations in the six months he has been in office.

After word spread that Vance and his family planned a day out at Disneyland in California last month, hundreds turned out to protest at the theme park, to condemn the Trump administration’s immigration raids across the state.

In March, protesters lined the streets near the ski resort the vice president was staying at with his family in Vermont.

Vance is soon headed for the U.K. countryside hotspot of the Cotswolds on his next family vacation, where he is expected to rent a quaint rural cottage.