JD Vance’s travel plans have been attracting scrutiny after reports that the vice president had water levels raised ahead of a birthday boating trip with his family.
However, it now seems it was the Secret Service who asked military engineers to raise the water level of Ohio’s Little Miami River—without the VP’s knowledge.
A spokesperson for the vice president said neither Vance nor his staff had any knowledge of the request, according to The Guardian. “The Secret Service often employs protective measures without the knowledge of the vice president or his staff, as was the case last weekend,” the statement read.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) confirmed that its Louisville district received a request to increase outflow at Caesar Creek Lake to support what it called the “safe navigation” of the vice president’s security detail. The agency complied.
The Secret Service followed up Thursday with a revised statement reiterating that the vice president’s office “was not involved in the decision” and that the change had been “operationally necessary” to accommodate motorized watercraft, law enforcement, and emergency responders.
According to the Secret Service, a public safety boat reportedly ran aground during a scouting mission with agents ahead of the trip, prompting the request to raise the water level.
The incident is the latest in a string of travel-related issues for Vance. The vice president, his wife Usha, and their three children are expected to arrive in the United Kingdom this weekend. Their itinerary includes sightseeing in London, a cottage stay in the Cotswolds, and a trip to Scotland, according to The Telegraph.
British protesters aligned with anti-Trump movements have already pledged to disrupt Vance’s visit to the English countryside. The Cotswolds—frequented by King Charles III, Hugh Grant, and David Beckham—has also recently become home to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who moved to the U.K. after Trump’s 2024 re-election.
Vance’s previous vacations have also been met with resistance. In March, demonstrators forced him to leave a Vermont ski resort over the administration’s stance on Ukraine. Protesters held signs calling him a “national disgrace” and told him to “go ski in Russia.”
In early July, more than 100 protesters gathered outside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel, where the Vances were booked, to denounce the Trump administration’s deportation policies.
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