River level raised for JD Vance's birthday kayak trip
The US Secret Service said it requested the increased water flow for the Little Miami River, first reported by The Guardian.
This was to ensure motorised watercraft and emergency personnel "could operate safely" while protecting the Republican vice president, whose home is in Cincinnati.
But critics immediately blasted the action as a sign of the vice president's entitlement, particularly given the Trump administration's focus on slashing government spending.
Richard W. Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, was scathing.
He said 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."
The Corps of Engineers' Louisville District temporarily increased outflows from the Caesar Creek Lake in southwest Ohio into the Little Miami "to support safe navigation of US Secret Service personnel," said spokesperson Gene Pawlik.
He said the move met operational criteria and fell within normal practice.
"It was determined that the operations would not adversely affect downstream or upstream water levels," the corps said in a statement.
"Downstream stakeholders were notified in advance of the slight outflow increase, which occurred on August 1, 2025." Vance's birthday was on August 2.
The department provided two natural resources officers to assist the Secret Service with the Vance event, spokesperson Karina Cheung said.
The Vance family has already become accustomed to certain accommodations being made as they move about the world.
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 was also closed to visitors during the Vance family's visit to India.
Such special treatment isn't reserved for one political party.
When Democratic Vice President Al Gore, then a presidential candidate, paddled down the Connecticut River for a photo opportunity in 1999, utility officials had opened a dam and released four billion gallons of water to raise the river's level.
That request, too, came after a review of the area by the Secret Service — and Gore also experienced political pushback.
Gore's campaign said at the time that he did not ask for the water to be released.
A spokesman for Vance's office declined immediate comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
8 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
I lived in Washington DC. The last thing it needs is a Trump ‘rescue'
If you're wondering what in the hell Donald Trump was going on about regarding the nation's capital this week, it's because Washington, DC, is another one of those long-time fixations of the unhinged American right. In the world of Fox News, right-wing radio and Republican political conventions, San Francisco is synonymous with gay people while DC is a dog whistle that signifies blacks, crime and corruption. When Trump announced a federal takeover of the city this week, putting its local police force under his control, he said he was rescuing it from 'crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor – and worse!' 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,' claimed the Republican president. But he was lying. The Democratic mayor of the overwhelmingly Democratic city, Muriel Bowser, pointed out that violent crime in DC was at its lowest level in more than three decades last year. Yet Trump is sending in the National Guard to crack down on crime and clear the city of homelessness. It's all a bit absurd. But, really, this is just Trump singing a very old tune that most Republicans can hum along to. Why? It's just another volley in his time-tested tactic of throwing red meat to his base to distract them from thinking twice about, say, his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein or his on-and-off bromance with Vladimir Putin. Loading The bad news is that his move is probably legal. DC is a political anomaly. It's not a state, but it's not inside a state, either. It was created by land taken from Maryland; Congress gave itself the power of governance over the area and has a standing committee to control its budget. DC has always been the butt of jokes. JFK famously quipped that it was a city of 'southern efficiency and northern charm'. But DC has grown and is now at the centre of one of the largest (and wealthiest) metropolises in the US. It has a population bigger than several states; campaigners for statehood are quick to point out that, with the full federal workforce on hand on a typical weekday, it's bigger than several more. Yet DC was given no senators; Congress grudgingly gave it three presidential electoral votes in 1961, and a single member of the House of Representatives in 1971, but only as a 'non-voting delegate'.
The Age
8 hours ago
- The Age
I lived in Washington DC. The last thing it needs is a Trump ‘rescue'
If you're wondering what in the hell Donald Trump was going on about regarding the nation's capital this week, it's because Washington, DC, is another one of those long-time fixations of the unhinged American right. In the world of Fox News, right-wing radio and Republican political conventions, San Francisco is synonymous with gay people while DC is a dog whistle that signifies blacks, crime and corruption. When Trump announced a federal takeover of the city this week, putting its local police force under his control, he said he was rescuing it from 'crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor – and worse!' 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,' claimed the Republican president. But he was lying. The Democratic mayor of the overwhelmingly Democratic city, Muriel Bowser, pointed out that violent crime in DC was at its lowest level in more than three decades last year. Yet Trump is sending in the National Guard to crack down on crime and clear the city of homelessness. It's all a bit absurd. But, really, this is just Trump singing a very old tune that most Republicans can hum along to. Why? It's just another volley in his time-tested tactic of throwing red meat to his base to distract them from thinking twice about, say, his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein or his on-and-off bromance with Vladimir Putin. Loading The bad news is that his move is probably legal. DC is a political anomaly. It's not a state, but it's not inside a state, either. It was created by land taken from Maryland; Congress gave itself the power of governance over the area and has a standing committee to control its budget. DC has always been the butt of jokes. JFK famously quipped that it was a city of 'southern efficiency and northern charm'. But DC has grown and is now at the centre of one of the largest (and wealthiest) metropolises in the US. It has a population bigger than several states; campaigners for statehood are quick to point out that, with the full federal workforce on hand on a typical weekday, it's bigger than several more. Yet DC was given no senators; Congress grudgingly gave it three presidential electoral votes in 1961, and a single member of the House of Representatives in 1971, but only as a 'non-voting delegate'.
9 News
12 hours ago
- 9 News
Australia's AUKUS boost as politicians on both sides send message to Trump
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here BREAKING RBA hands down third rate cut of year Politicians from both major parties in the United States are urging the Trump administration to maintain the three-way AUKUS security partnership designed to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. It is a promising sign for Australia, which has made moves to shore up the alliance in recent weeks. The Trump administration is currently reviewing the AUKUS pact between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. (AP) Two weeks ago, the Department of Defence announced it would review AUKUS, the 4-year-old pact signed by Joe Biden with Australia and the U.K. The announcement means the Republican administration is looking closely at a partnership that many believe is critical to the US strategy to push back China's influence in the Indo-Pacific. The review is expected to be completed in the fall. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared at a congressional hearing in Washington DC last month, where he warned of the threat China poses in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia has now received support from important figures on both sides of American politics. 'AUKUS is essential to strengthening deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and advancing the undersea capabilities that will be central to ensuring peace and stability," Republican Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan and Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois wrote in a July 22 letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles and his UK counterpart John Healey in Sydney last month after the announcement of the 50-year treaty between the two countries. (Steven Siewert) Moolenaar chairs the House of Representatives panel on China and Krishnamoorthi is its top Democrat. The review comes as the Trump administration works to rebalance its global security concerns while struggling with a hollowed-out industrial base that has hamstrung US capabilities to build enough warships. The review is being led by Elbridge Colby, a Pentagon official, who has expressed scepticism about the partnership. 'If we can produce the attack submarines in sufficient number and sufficient speed, then great. But if we can't, that becomes a very difficult problem," Colby said during his confirmation hearing in March. 'This is getting back to restoring our defence industrial capacity so that we don't have to face these awful choices but rather can be in a position where we can produce not only for ourselves, but for our allies." As part of the $US269 billion ($412 billion) AUKUS partnership, the United States will sell three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, with the first delivery scheduled as soon as 2032. The USA and the UK would help Australia design and build another three to five attack submarines to form an eight-boat force for Australia. A March report by the Congressional Research Service warned that the lack of American shipbuilding capacities, including workforce shortage and insufficient supply chains, is jeopardising the much-celebrated partnership. If the USA should sell the vessels to Australia, the US Navy would have a shortage of attack submarines for two decades, the report said. Some worry the United States will not have enough submarines for themselves if they continue with the AUKUS pact. (AP) The Navy has been ordering two boats per year in the last decade, but American shipyards have been only producing 1.2 Virginia-class subs a year since 2022, the report said. 'The delivery pace is not where it needs to be" to make good on the first pillar of AUKUS, Admiral Daryl Caudle, nominee for the Chief of Naval Operations, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month. Australia has invested $US1 billion in the US submarine industrial base, with another $US1 billion to be paid before the end of this year. It has agreed to contribute a total of $US3 billion to uplift the US submarine base, and it has sent both industry personnel to train at U.S. shipyards and naval personnel for submarine training in the United States. As part of the AUKUS deal, the United States will supply Australia with submarines. (AP) "Australia was clear that we would make a proportionate contribution to the United States industrial base,' an Australian defence spokesperson said in July. 'Australia's contribution is about accelerating US production rates and maintenance to enable the delivery of Australia's future Virginia-class submarines.' The three nations have also jointly tested communication capabilities with underwater autonomous systems, Australia's defence ministry said on July 23. Per the partnership, the countries will co-develop other advanced technologies, from undersea to hypersonic capabilities. At the recent Aspen Security Forum, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, also the Australian ambassador to the United States, said his country is committed to increasing defense spending to support its first nuclear-powered sub program, which would also provide 'massively expensive full maintenance repair facilities" for the US. Indo-Pacific fleet based in Western Australia. Rudd expressed confidence that the two governments 'will work our way through this stuff.' Bruce Jones, senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology, told The Associated Press that the partnership, by positioning subs in Western Australia, is helping arm the undersea space that is 'really crucial to American deterrence and defence options in the Western Pacific.' 'The right answer is not to be content with the current pace of submarine building. It's to increase the pace," Jones said. Jennifer Parker, who has served more than 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy and founded Barrier Strategic Advisory, said it should not be a zero-sum game. 'You might sell one submarine to Australia, so you have one less submarine on paper. But in terms of the access, you have the theater of choice from operating from Australia, from being able to maintain your submarines from Australia," Parker said. 'This is not a deal that just benefits Australia." Jennifer Parker has spoken of the benefits of AUKUS to the United States. (Dominic Lorrimer) Defence policy is one of the few areas where Republican lawmakers have pushed back against the Trump administration, but their resolve is being tested with the Pentagon's review of AUKUS. So far, they have joined their Democratic colleagues in voicing support for the partnership. They said the US submarine industry is rebounding with congressional appropriations totaling $US10 billion since 2018 to ensure the US will have enough ships to allow for sales to Australia. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told the AP that support for AUKUS is strong and bipartisan, 'certainly on the Armed Services Committee.' "There is a little bit of mystification about the analysis done at the Pentagon,' Kaine said, adding that 'maybe (what) the analysis will say is: We believe this is a good thing.' CONTACT US
