Vice President JD Vance sought last week to use a military helicopter to ferry himself and his son across Washington for a golf lesson, one of a number of allegedly unusual travel requests that has left the Republican’s security detail “fed up,” MS Now reports.
The alleged travel plans aboard Marine Two were ultimately canceled due to weather, but Secret Service agents nonetheless discussed it among themselves unhappily, according to the outlet.
Past vice presidents have had Secret Service agents drive their children to activities, rather than use military hardware, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour to operate.
A series of last-minute travel requests, known as “off the record” movements, has reportedly led to anger and low morale within the detail.
“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR [off the record],” a source familiar with the mood inside the service told MS Now. “He [Vance] thinks he can still move around like a U.S. Senator.”
“The Vances are grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction,” a spokesperson for the vice president told The Independent in a statement. “While protecting a Vice President with a large policy portfolio and a young and growing family presents a unique challenge, agents of the Secret Service do so with excellence every day.”
Vance’s plans to travel from his home at the Naval Observatory to the golf course at Andrews Air Force Base would’ve represented a flight on a familiar route, while avoiding public impacts such as traffic jams and allowing the Vance family to spend time in a secure environment, according to an administration official.
Vance has not demanded special treatment, but the nature of his time in office has prompted unique security challenges such as the need to protect a young, growing family as well as for agents to join Vance on regular around-the-world travel, the official argued.
“When U.S. Secret Service Special Agents choose to join a protective detail, they understand the commitment required: long hours, frequent travel, and the need for constant flexibility,” Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said in a statement. “Nights, weekends, and holidays are part of the job. Our agents work tirelessly to ensure protectees’ safety and security, while also preserving normalcy to the extent possible.”
Vance isn’t the only one reportedly facing scrutiny for his use of security and travel resources.
FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly canceled a planned trip to visit his musician girlfriend in Chicago as his plane was on the tarmac Friday when frustrated White House officials summoned him to Washington for a meeting.
“Patel was coming (to Chicago) today for a fake office visit for his girlfriend’s country concert this weekend,” a source briefed on the trip told MS Now.
The outlet reported that while the precise reason for the meeting was unclear, Trump administration officials have been growing increasingly “disturbed” by Patel’s recent actions, including his plans to leave town amid the re-escalation of the Iran war, which has included talk of potential Iranian plots against the president’s life.
Patel has called the reporting “false.”
Democrats in the House and Senate are investigating Patel to see if he misused taxpayer funds for department purchases and recreational travel.
In a July 8 letter, Rep. Jamie Raskin and Sen. Dick Durbin alleged Patel had been accused of demanding “perks” during international travel, including “VIP snorkeling” trips in Hawaii, plus jet skiing and a helicopter during FBI business.
The lawmakers also claimed there was concern an FBI attache in Wellington, New Zealand “may have been established in part to facilitate or justify a sightseeing trip there.”
In a previous statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for the FBI said the allegations in the letter are “completely false.”
Patel has “reimbursed ALL personal travel and expenses, strictly following the Office of Management and Budget rules, in the exact same manner as all previous FBI Directors — and is fully compliant,” the bureau said.
The Secret Service has struggled in recent years with understaffing and high workloads. The agency was understaffed by more than 20 percent in 2024 when a gunman attempted to kill Donald Trump during a campaign rally, an inspector general report released this month found.
