Vice President JD Vance’s communications director has clapped back at criticism of the VP after water levels at the Little Miami River in Ohio were raised for his family boating excursion.
“The Secret Service raised the water level in order to get their emergency motor boats on the river with the Vances,” said William Martin in a Friday X post quoting “Pod Save America” co-host Tommy Vietor. “This washed up loser has absolutely no clue what he’s talking about. Also the Little Miami is five minutes away from the VP’s house, not quite a ‘family vacation.’”
Vance is a native of Middleton, Ohio, in the area around the Little Miami and wrote about his upbringing in the book “Hillbilly Elegy”, which was also adapted as a 2020 film directed by Ron Howard. Before he became vice president, Vance served as an Ohio senator.
Social media posts appeared to show Vance canoeing on the river last Saturday, his 41st birthday. The Guardian reported on the “unusual step of changing the outflow of the lake” Wednesday, describing the Little Miami as a tributary of Caesar Creek Lake. Publicly available data on the US Geological Survey (USGS) does show that there was a sudden increase in the river level and corresponding drop in lake elevation during the early August days when Vance was vacationing, said The Guardian.
According to a statement by the US army corps of engineers (USACE) cited by The Guardian, the request from the U.S. Secret Service was made to “support safe navigation” of the US vice-president’s security detail. A source familiar with the situation cited by The Hill said that public safety officials and the Secret Service went on a joint scouting mission before the Vances went out on the river and that a public safety boat ended up aground during the trip.
USACE spokesperson Gene Pawlik said the Secret Service request met operational criteria and that it would not adversely affect downstream or upstream water levels. He also said “downstream stakeholders were notified in advance of the slight outflow increase.”
“In a statement, the Secret Service said it had closely coordinated with the Ohio department of natural resources and USACE to conduct planning to ensure motorized watercraft and emergency personnel could operate safely during a recent visit. It said it could not discuss specifics of its operational planning,” The Guardian reported.
While The Guardian also said that “one source with knowledge of the matter who communicated with the Guardian anonymously alleged that the outflow request for the Caesar Creek Lake was not just to support the vice-president’s Secret Service detail, but also to create ‘ideal kayaking conditions,’” the outlet noted it could not independently verify that claim. It said Vance’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
“The Secret Service often employs protective measures without the knowledge of the Vice President or his staff, as was the case last weekend,” said Vance spokesperson in a Thursday email to The Hill.
According to The Guardian’s report, “it is not unprecedented,” for the USACE to modify outflows for public use and emergency responders. There was no public announcement made about the outflow change ahead of Aug. 1, but a source told The Guardian that special releases are typically not done for individuals.
Although Vance has not been accused of doing anything illegal, people have bristled at the idea of changing the river outflow for the vice president, especially in the wake of federal government staffing cuts. In particular, cuts to the National Park Service were announced just on the precipice of the busiest season for the parks, Audacy reported earlier this year.
“The news raises questions about whether Vance’s office was potentially exploiting public infrastructure resources for his personal recreation at a time when the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, scientific research and government jobs as part of its ‘efficiency’ drive,” said The Guardian.
Ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who served in the former President George W. Bush’s administration, said he thought the actions seemed “pretty outrageous” in light of the NPS cuts.
“Those cuts are directly impacting middle-class families’ vacations,” he said, per The Guardian. “Whether they are doing it for the Secret Service or for him I think is splitting hairs. What he ought to be doing is choosing another place.”
Norm Eisen – a former White House special counsel for ethics and government reform during former President Barack Obama’s tenure – said he never received a request to “increase the outflow of a waterway as part of a government official going kayaking.” He was also quoted by The Guardian.