On Thursday last week, Secret Service agents groused among themselves as they prepared to deliver another perk to Vice President JD Vance’s family: join a military helicopter crew to fly his young son to his golf lesson
The planned trip on Marine Two, the call-sign for the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter that carries the vice president, was canceled at the last minute due to severe thunderstorms and high winds in the Washington, D.C., area that day, according to two people with knowledge of the flight plans. Vance planned to travel with his son on the flight, according to two other administration officials with knowledge of his schedule.
But the Secret Service staff’s complaints about a planned chopper ride for an elementary school student reflects a building morale problem inside the team of agents assigned to shield Vance and his young family, according to the two people and another person familiar with the agents’ frustration.
Agents have shared concerns internally about Vance and his office pressing them for trips and assignments that some agents consider an inappropriate or even unprecedented use of government re
The agents pulled in to protect Vance and his family have also become “fed up” with the last-minute travel demands that Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, frequently place on the security team, according to the two people and an additional source with knowledge of their travel who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The Vances are the first family to reside at the Naval Observatory with young children since former Vice President Al Gore and his family, more than 25 years ago.
There’s no formal Secret Service policy prohibiting the use of a government helicopter for transporting a vice president’s child to a local event, but former and current Secret Service supervisors agreed the request for a chopper for this purpose has no precedent. They told MS NOW that prior vice presidents eschewed using such expensive government perks for the convenience of their children’s schedule, and agents typically drove children locally in sports utility vehicles
The vice president’s office provided the following statement in response to MS NOW’s questions:
“The Vances are grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction,” it read. “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.”
The White House Military Office, which reports to the president, would have to authorize the use of the helicopter for the golf lesson. Operating the helicopter costs taxpayers between $16,000 and $24,600 per hour of use, according to 2022 Defense Department budget estimates. An administration official familiar with Vance’s travel said the vice president planned to accompany his son for his golf lesson
“That is RIDICULOUS,” one person with knowledge of the planned golf trip said in a message. “Pence and Harris never pulled anything like that.”
The Vances recently required several last minute chopper trips to the region around Middleburg, Virginia, so they could hunt for houses to buy or rent there for their expanding family. The couple — who have three children, ages nine, six and four — announced earlier this year that the second lady was pregnant with their fourth child and is expected to deliver late this month
Previous vice presidents and other protected administration officials traditionally warned the Secret Service of their intended travel days in advance, especially for their family, and sought to provide at least several hours’ notice of changes.
“They change everything,” one of the people said. “They don’t stick to their schedules, and that costs shit-tons of taxpayer money.”
Such hastily arranged trips, known within the Secret Service as “off the record” movements, require agents to cancel their days off, drop other plans and often race to the location they are needed. It also forces agents to come up with security plans in a hurry, according to numerous current and former Secret Service personnel. The repeated pattern of off the record movements can quickly and understandably erode morale on a protection detail, current and former agents told MS NOW
“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR,” said one person familiar with the detail’s frustration. “He [Vance] thinks he can still move around like a U.S. Senator. “
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn issued a statement in response to MS NOW’s questions, emphasizing that protecting the nation’s leaders requires constant vigilance and allows no room for compromise.
“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,” the statement read. “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. We are committed to supporting our personnel, which requires around the clock dedication and discipline. This is a job that requires absolute dedication and discipline.”
Chronic understaffing at the Secret Service has long dogged the law enforcement agency and has often led agents to work excessive overtime to secure the administration leaders and family members they are legally required to shield. It has also forced the Secret Service to put inexperienced staff in charge of some security assignments, such as the 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassin came close to killing then-candidate Donald Trump.
A second person aware of Secret Service complaints about the Vances added, “The issue is they are trying to live a normal, ‘organic’ life.”
The frustration over the last minute asks has boiled over to the point that agents have made custom coins and stickers to mock the frequency of the vice president’s and his family’s last-minute travel, using Vance’s Secret Service code name, “Bobcat”, according to images reviewed by MSNOW
