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U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, July 2025
The vice president and his family were unaware of the measure, a White House spokesperson claimed.
The White House is defending a decision by the U.S. Secret Service to have the Army Corps of Engineers raise the water level of a river in Ohio so Vice President JD Vance could kayak with his family for his 41st birthday.
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The Associated Press reports that on August 1, the Corps temporarily increased outflows from Caesar Creek Lake in southwest Ohio into the Little Miami River, which runs through the Cincinnati metropolitan area, at the request of the Secret Service “to support safe navigation of U.S. Secret Service personnel.” Vance spent the following day, August 2, kayaking on the river near his Cincinnati home.
Corps spokesperson Gene Pawlik said the adjustment met operational criteria and “would not adversely affect downstream or upstream water levels.” He added that “downstream stakeholders were notified in advance of the slight outflow increase.” The agency declined to disclose the cost.
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Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said, “The Secret Service often employs protective measures without the knowledge of the Vice President or his staff, as was the case last weekend.”
Criticism came quickly. Richard W. Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, wrote on X that “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.”
Those cuts include the Trump administration’s February firing of about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees, including maintenance workers, guides, and educators, as part of a broad effort to downsize the federal workforce. Park advocates have warned that the reductions will shorten visitor center hours, close campgrounds, delay openings, and put public safety at risk.
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On Wednesday, Tommy Vietor, cofounder of Crooked Media and cohost of Pod Save America, posted: “Man of the people @JDVance had the Army Corps of engineers CHANGE THE WATER LEVEL OF A RIVER so his family could go boating on a family vacation...”
On Friday morning, William Martin, communications director for the vice president, kept the story alive by posting on X: “The Secret Service raised the water level in order to get their emergency motor boats on the river with the Vances. Also the Little Miami is five minutes away from the VP’s house, not quite a ‘family vacation.’”
The river episode adds to a growing list of instances in which accommodations for Vance’s security have limited public access. Earlier this year, the Colosseum in Rome and the Taj Mahal in India were closed during his family visits, sparking complaints from tourists.
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