Vice President JD Vance’s team requested a temporary rise in water levels of Ohio’s Little Miami River—fed by Caesar Creek Lake— so his family could go kayaking for his birthday.
Here’s how it came down:
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Role of the Secret Service: The U.S. Secret Service asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to increase outflows from Caesar Creek Lake. The stated purpose was to ensure safe navigation for Security personnel escorting the vice president.
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Family Recreation or Security Protocol? While USACE confirmed the request met standard operational guidelines and didn’t deviate from normal protocol, an anonymous insider told The Guardian it was also meant to create “ideal kayaking conditions” for Vance and his family.
Public and Ethical Backlash: The disclosure has triggered sharp criticism from ethics experts. Richard Painter, a former Bush administration ethics lawyer, called it “pretty outrageous” for a senior official to seemingly use public infrastructure for personal leisure amid budget cuts. Norm Eisen, former ethics czar under Obama, emphasized the appearance of unequal access and said he “never would have permitted this kind of thing.”
While there is no allegation that Vance’s office did anything illegal, the ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who served in the George W Bush administration, said it seemed hypocritical and “pretty outrageous” for Vance to be receiving these particular accommodations for his family holiday when the administration’s cuts have led to drastic cuts in the National Park Service.
As controversy mounts, the conversation now centers on where the line should be drawn between legitimate security operations and improper use of taxpayer-funded infrastructure for private recreation.