Story perspectives

VP Vance's Son Golf Helicopter Cancelled, Agents Mock $20K Request

7/16/2026

Summary

Vance Requests Helicopter

Vice President JD Vance asked Secret Service to use Marine Two for his son’s golf lesson at Joint Base Andrews on July 9, 2026.
The flight was canceled because thunderstorms and high winds hit Washington, D.C.
Agents, fed up with Vance’s last-minute trips, mocked the request with “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club” coins, and said Marine Two costs $16,000-$24,600 per hour, no rule bars a vice president’s child from a helicopter.

Summary

Vance Helicopter Trips

Agents report JD Vance’s frequent Secret Service helicopter trips for house hunting are disrupting schedules and morale.
Vance is the first vice president with young children since Al Gore in the 1990s.
The Vance family, with three children aged nine, six, and four, and a pregnant spouse, has required helicopter trips to Middleburg, Virginia.
Internal complaints describe the travel requests as inappropriate and unprecedented compared with previous vice presidents.

History

Historical Context

Calls to curb Vice President Kamala Harris’s Marine Two flights revive a century-old pattern of regulating official air travel, beginning with the British monarch’s dedicated fleet in 1928 and followed by the U.S. president’s first purpose-built aircraft in the 1940s. The debate centers on resource strain at Joint Base Andrews and the need for written justification for such trips.

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Vance Requests Helicopter

Vice President JD Vance asked Secret Service to use Marine Two for his son’s golf lesson at Joint Base Andrews on July 9, 2026.
The flight was canceled because thunderstorms and high winds hit Washington, D.C.
Agents, fed up with Vance’s last-minute trips, mocked the request with “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club” coins, and said Marine Two costs $16,000-$24,600 per hour, no rule bars a vice president’s child from a helicopter.

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