A Secret Service agent assigned to protect Vice President JD Vance has been yanked from duty over allegations that someone inside his security detail leaked sensitive information to the press.
The unidentified agent was placed on administrative leave and is now the subject of an internal investigation, the Secret Service confirmed Thursday.
“A member of the Vice Presidential Protective Division is the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry,” agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement obtained by CNN.
Guglielmi said any behavior that damages the trust between an official and the agents protecting that person is “fundamentally incompatible with our mission and will not be tolerated.”
The agent is suspected of feeding information to MS NOW for a July 15 report detailing growing frustration inside Vance’s protective detail, according to CNN.
That story portrayed agents as fed up with the vice president’s last-minute travel demands and alleged use of government resources for family trips.
The flashpoint was a planned Marine Two flight carrying Vance and his young son to Joint Base Andrews, where the boy was scheduled to receive a golf lesson. The helicopter trip was ultimately scrubbed because of severe thunderstorms and high winds around Washington.
While no Secret Service policy reportedly prohibits a vice president’s child from riding aboard a government helicopter, current and former supervisors told MS NOW they knew of no precedent for using one for that purpose.
Marine Two costs taxpayers between $16,000 and $24,600 per flight hour, based on 2022 Defense Department budget estimates cited by The Independent.
“That is RIDICULOUS,” one person familiar with the planned flight told MS NOW, claiming former Vice Presidents Mike Pence and Kamala Harris never made a similar request.
Sources also accused the Vance family of frequently changing plans and arranging sudden “off the record,” or OTR, movements that force agents to build security operations on short notice.
“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR,” one source told the outlet.
The frustration allegedly became so intense that agents created mocking challenge coins and stickers reading “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club,” a reference to Vance’s Secret Service code name. Other items reportedly carried the motto: “Advance. OTR. Repeat.”
The original report also said the Vances had taken several last-minute helicopter trips to Middleburg, Virginia, while searching for a new home.
Vance’s office defended the family while praising the agents responsible for protecting them.
“The Vances are grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction,” a spokesperson said.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn separately noted that protective assignments routinely require long hours, frequent travel and sudden changes.
But the problem now facing the agency extends beyond bruised morale.
CNN reported that the MS NOW story caught the attention of officials inside the Secret Service, FBI and White House, who were alarmed that details touching on Vance’s movements and protective operations had appeared in the press.
The agency’s internal affairs office is leading the review. Administrative leave does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing, and investigators have not publicly identified which information the agent allegedly disclosed. It remains unclear whether the case will result in discipline or criminal charges.
This is also not the first alleged security breach involving Vance’s detail this year.
In January, another agent was placed on leave after an undercover journalist recorded him allegedly discussing travel plans, shift schedules and protective formations. The agent’s clearance was suspended, and the Secret Service ordered its personnel to repeat anti-espionage training, according to People.
The latest investigation comes as the Trump administration intensifies its war on unauthorized leaks.
The Justice Department recently subpoenaed New York Times journalists over reporting about security concerns surrounding the Qatari-donated aircraft converted for use as Air Force One. Prosecutors also sought phone records connected to reporters and some of their relatives in an effort to uncover their sources, according to reports.
