Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff probes river-raising for JD Vance's birthday kayak trip

Source: NBC News

Aug. 15, 2025, 5:00 AM EDT / Updated Aug. 15, 2025, 8:18 AM EDT


A recent family outing Vice President JD Vance took for his 41st birthday is coming under renewed scrutiny as Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff launches a new probe into a federal request to raise the level of a river to accommodate his kayak trip.

In a letter first shared with NBC News, Schiff, of California, requests information about the move, which he calls “unjustified and frivolous.”

“I write to you to express serious concerns regarding the potential abuse of power exercised by Vice President Vance and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on August 2, in which the Secret Service directed USACE to change the outflow of Ohio’s Caesar Creek Lake for a recreational boat outing for the Vice President’s birthday,” Schiff wrote.

The letter, which is addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Adam Telle, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works; and Secret Service Director Sean Curran, requests answers to over a half-dozen questions by Sept. 5.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democratic-rep-adam-schiff-probes-river-raising-jd-vances-birthday-kay-rcna225050