JD Vance's security detail requested the Ohio River's water level be raised for the VP's birthday kayaking trip
The U.S. Secret Service said it requested the increased waterflow for the Little Miami River, first reported by The Guardian, to ensure motorized 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 administration Trump administration's focus on slashing government spending.
The U.S. Secret Service raised an Ohio river's water level last week to accommodate Vice President JD Vance's upcoming kayaking trip, where he will be celebrating his 41st birthday with his family.
Getty Images
Richard W. Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, 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 U.S. 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 August 1, 2025.'
Vance's birthday was on Aug. 2.
The sprawling 2,830-acre Caesar Creek Lake has an unlimited horsepower designation and five launch ramps, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website.
A marina, campground and lodge are also located on site.
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.
Vance turned 41 on Aug. 2 and has already received criticism for the planned trip.
Getty Images
The Taj Mahal also was 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 4 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.
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The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump turbocharges redistricting fight
Morning Report is The Hill's a.m. newsletter. Subscribe here. In today's issue: ▪ Trump revives battle over census ▪ What gerrymandering means for voters ▪ FBI fires officials at odds with White House ▪ Israel cabinet backs Gaza City takeover plan President Trump is raising the stakes of the midterms redistricting fight with his push to revive a battle over the census. Trump on Thursday directed the Commerce Department to start work on a 'new' census. Work is already underway for the census scheduled for 2030. The president said in a Truth Social post that the next census should not count those who are in the country without authorization and use the 'results and information gained' from the 2024 presidential election. The plan would likely face significant legal hurdles, writes The Hill's Jared Gans. The Constitution's 14th Amendment says the decennial census should be conducted on the basis of the total number of people in each state. The Supreme Court effectively blocked the citizenship question from being added to the 2020 census. It was unclear Thursday whether the president was calling for a mid-decade census or changes to the next one in 2030. Still, the push adds a new dimension to the fierce redistricting battle playing out across the country, as Republicans seek to gain the upper hand ahead of next year's midterm elections. Trump's call for a new census shows he's doubling down on this strategy of adjusting the terms of engagement in the elections to come, Gans writes. 'From a messaging standpoint, it is ingenious to push the envelope on this front,' Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told The Hill. ▪ The Associated Press: Can Trump hold a census in the middle of a decade and exclude immigrants in the country illegally? Trump himself kicked off the redistricting arms race with his call for Texas Republicans to approve a new congressional map that aims to give the GOP five more seats in the state in next year's midterms. The president said earlier this week the GOP is 'entitled' to five more seats. ▪ ABC News: How gerrymandering has reshaped the political map for red and blue states. ▪ The Atlantic: How Democrats tied their own hands on redistricting. LONE STAR STANDOFF: Democrats in Congress are defending the Democratic legislators who fled the Lone Star State in an effort to block the GOP-controlled Legislature from moving ahead with redrawn maps. The group of more than 50 Texas House Democrats are scattered across various blue states, vowing to wait out the remainder of the special session. Claims by Texas Republicans that the FBI is getting involved in efforts to track down and possibly detain the Democratic state lawmakers are getting strong pushback from Democrats in Congress. Democratic members are investigating how involved the FBI is in the Texas redistricting battle, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports, and lawmakers who have weighed in on the matter say FBI intervention would be an egregious politicization of the nation's top law enforcement agency. Responding to a claim by Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) that the FBI will help find the lawmakers who fled the Lone Star State, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) said: 'These extremists don't give a damn about public safety.' Jeffries said in a Thursday interview with ABC News that the FBI lacks the legal authority to intervene in a state-level political dispute. 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Blue states, including New York, New Jersey and California, are pushing to redraw their own maps, sometimes in the face of years of Democratic pushes for more equitable maps and independent redistricting commissions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told reporters this week that California is charging ahead with preparations for potential redistricting ahead of the midterms 'in response to the existential realities that we're now facing.' 'We're going to fight fire with fire,' Newsom said. Blue state Republicans at risk of retaliatory redistricting efforts are sounding the alarm on what they dub a Trump-directed Texas power grab. The Hill's Emily Brooks and Caroline Vakil write the Republicans worry efforts to undergo mid-decade districting could ultimately backfire in their home states. Mid-decade redistricting being considered in California alone could cancel out Republicans' wins in Texas. 'I think the whole thing is pretty disgusting,' Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), whose reelection could be at risk if California Democrats pursue new maps, told The Hill of the redistricting battles across the country. He said constituents don't want politicians manufacturing 'a temporary gain by — any side — manipulating lines.' 3 Things to Know Today Trump ordered federal law enforcement to begin patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., to crack down on crime. Actor Dean Cain says he's becoming an ICE agent. Cain is best known for playing Superman in the mid-1990s 'Lois & Clark' series. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to 'supercharge' hiring efforts to bring on 8,900 new air traffic controllers by 2028. But experts say that may not be enough. Leading the Day The Hill's Elizabeth Crisp spoke with Princeton University professor Samuel Wang, who leads the university's nonpartisan Gerrymandering Project that tracks and seeks to eliminate partisan mapmaking. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length. THE HILL: What are your thoughts on the Texas redistricting fight and the tit for tat that it seems to have sparked? WANG: The Texas redistricting is just an intensification of what Texas already did with its current gerrymander, which already got an F from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. It's probably worth three seats for Republicans, but by cutting things closer there is both downside risk (they could underperform that) or they could get the five seats that news outlets are claiming. A lot of the talk may not turn into action, since many states either have no legal path, or are already gerrymandered. The only options that will produce multiple seats are Ohio and Florida (for Republicans) and California (for Democrats). Do you think that there is a shift toward more gerrymandering? Or is it just becoming more explicit? No, it's the opposite — gerrymandering has decreased. Since its peak in 2010, gerrymandering has decreased thanks to independent commissions, state court actions, and bipartisan government. But public attention has increased massively, which is a good thing. Do you think that it is possible to have more competitive or purple/swing districts in the current climate? Yes, it is possible. Since 2012, the number of competitive swing congressional districts has nearly doubled. See [ this ] Atlantic piece. Much of what people think of as gerrymandering is just the fact that most districts are partisan, because of voters sorting themselves. Gerrymandering starts from that and makes things worse. Could things get better? Yes! Independent commissions by citizen initiative (Ohio, Illinois), court actions (Wisconsin, Utah), and bipartisan governance (Pennsylvania, Minnesota) can all chip away at the problem. Not Texas, though. Sadly, there are no laws in Texas that restrict congressional redistricting. It all depends on each state's laws. What is the direct impact to voters when the goals are to intentionally create 'red' or 'blue' districts? Gerrymandering reduces competition. Even worse than your topic (congressional redistricting) is legislative redistricting, where there is a direct effect on how people are governed. In that case, legislative gerrymanders in Texas and Illinois do not cancel out. FBI PURGE: Brian Driscoll, who briefly served as acting FBI director at the start of Trump's second term and who refused to turn over a list of agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases, is being fired. The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch reports that Driscoll has been asked to leave the bureau by today and that his removal seems to be part of a wider purge in the agency. 'Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI. I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time,' Driscoll wrote in a note to staffers that one shared on LinkedIn. 'Please know that it has been the honor of my life to serve alongside each of you. Thank you for allowing me to stand on your shoulders throughout it all. Our collective sacrifices for those we serve is, and will always be, worth it. I regret nothing. You are my heroes, and I remain in your debt,' he continued. Steve Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office, reportedly also was asked to leave, along with agent Walter Giardina, who worked on a number of Trump-related cases. The FBI Agents Association said in a statement that it was concerned by reports of the firings of senior leaders and that it was reviewing legal avenues to defend agents who were only doing their jobs. 'Agents are not given the option to pick and choose their cases, and these Agents carried out their assignments with professionalism and integrity,' the agents' union said. 'Most importantly, they followed the law.' When and Where The president will hold bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. At 4:15 p.m., he will participate in a trilateral signing with both prime ministers. The House and Senate are in recess until September. Morning Report's Alexis Simendinger will return on Monday. Zoom In TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Trump rounded out the first day of his new sweeping tariff overhaul by bringing out charts to defend the state of the economy during an event in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. The president and conservative economist Stephen Moore mocked a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report that found the economy added about 250,000 fewer jobs than previously thought in recent months. The duo displayed massive charts highlighting the economy under Trump compared to the Biden administration. 'This one chart really says it better than anything, if you look at this. This is great. 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'We want to get rid of these big deficits that we have with countries that have created these big surpluses and gutted our manufacturing base and have been terrible for American workers.' Economist and Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, who was director of the National Economic Council during the first Trump administration, insisted this week the worst predictions about Trump's tariffs have not come to fruition. 'All the gloom and doom, tariff inflation, tariff recession, tariff catastrophe, none of that has happened, OK? And in fact, as you noted earlier, the tariff revenues are pouring in,' Kudlow said Thursday in a Fox News interview. FED UP: Meanwhile, Trump has named his new pick to join the Federal Reserve's board of governors, following Adriana Kugler 's early retirement announcement last week. Trump's new nominee is Stephen Miran, who has been a top economic adviser to the president since his return to office in January. 'It is my Great Honor to announce that I have chosen Dr. Stephen Miran, current Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to serve in the just vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board until January 31, 2026,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. 'In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement.' Miran is a vocal critic of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump has been openly feuding with over interest rates. Elsewhere BILATERAL TALKS: Trump is eyeing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week as he pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine, a potential face-to-face gathering that carries potential risks for the White House at a time when it's gotten tougher on Moscow. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin as Russia carries out strikes despite U.S. calls for a pause in the fighting. The administration on Wednesday announced tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, and additional sanctions on Russia are set to take effect today. The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that Putin doesn't have to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in order for Trump to sit down with the Russian leader, walking back a White House statement from earlier in the day. 'No, he would like to meet with me, and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing,' Trump said. 'So last month, they lost 14,000 people — killed. Every week is [4,000] or 5,000 people. So I don't like long waits. I think it's a shame.' Much is still unknown about the meeting, including when, where and whether it will happen. 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New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Why Trump is starting ‘not to give a crap' if TikTok goes dark — at least briefly
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NBC News
12 minutes ago
- NBC News
Israel plans takeover of Gaza City and Texas Gov. Abbott criticizes state Democrats: Morning Rundown
Israeli leaders have approved a plan to escalate the country's war with Hamas in Gaza. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ramps up his threats against Democratic lawmakers who fled the state. And the prime suspect in a shooting at an Army base in Georgia was bullied, former co-workers say. Here's what to know today. Israel says it will retake Gaza City, escalating war with Hamas Israel said it will take over Gaza City, escalating its war with Hamas even as it faces growing international calls to end the 22-month conflict. The plan, announced early Friday local time, stops short of the full occupation of the Gaza Strip that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed in an interview yesterday on Fox News, in which he said that Israelis 'intend to' take over the enclave but that he didn't want to 'keep' it long term. An Israeli offensive could displace tens of thousands of people and could also endanger the remaining hostages held by Hamas. 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Carlos Coleman, who remained friends with Radford on Facebook after they parted ways, said Radford expressed deep heartache earlier this year about losing a loved one in a wrong-way crash. Radford remained in custody yesterday, and Army officials said a motive was unclear. The five wounded soldiers were in stable condition and are expected to recover. Read the full story here. The Canyon Fire north of Los Angeles forced thousands of evacuations as the blaze grew to over 1,500 acres. An 18-year-old was arrested after allegedly throwing a sex toy into the crowd at a Phoenix Mercury game, the fourth such time the 'stupid prank,' as the teen himself called it, has unfolded at a WNBA game recently. The rollout of a new Instagram Map that allows users to share where they are in real time has sparked privacy concerns. Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson's ex-husband and the father of her two children, has died at the age of 48 after a three-year battle with cancer. 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Some influencers have even created a brand out of selling them, like model Remi Bader, whose product is called Fangirl, naturally. — Jessica Prois, NBC Asian America Editorial Director NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified Want to challenge your brain? Spend some time trying to piece together the mysteries locked within these mind-bending puzzle books. Plus, NBC Select has suggestions for everything you need to properly prepare an emergency kit, according to FEMA and CDC guidance. here.
