JD Vance Secret Service investigation removes detail member over security claim

A JD Vance Secret Service investigation has pulled a member of the vice president’s protective team off duty while officials examine an allegation involving operational and information security, the agency said Thursday.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told NBC News that the member of the Vice Presidential Protective Division is the subject of an administrative investigation and could face a criminal inquiry. He said the matter involves allegations of compromising security information tied to the vice president’s protection.

Guglielmi declined to discuss specific details of the case. He said the agency would not tolerate conduct that could put a protectee’s safety at risk.

Vance’s office declined to comment to NBC News on the removal.

Why was a member of JD Vance's Secret Service detail removed?

The Secret Service says the detail member was removed because of allegations involving compromised operational and information security. The Vice Presidential Protective Division is the Secret Service unit assigned to protect the vice president, and the agency says the matter is now under administrative review with a possible criminal inquiry.

CNN first reported the removal, citing people familiar with the matter. CNN reported that the agent was suspected of leaking information that appeared in an MS Now report about alleged frustration inside the Secret Service over Vance’s travel arrangements.

NBC News said it had not independently verified the details reported by CNN or MS Now about the alleged complaints from Secret Service personnel or the circumstances surrounding the removal.

MS Now reported that some Secret Service agents complained internally about plans for Vance to take Marine Two with his son to the child’s golf lesson at Joint Base Andrews. The flight was later canceled at the last minute because of severe weather, according to the outlet.

That MS Now account cited two people with knowledge of the flight plans, two administration officials familiar with Vance’s schedule and a person familiar with agents’ frustration. The outlet also reported, citing several of those sources, that agents had raised concerns among themselves about trips and assignments some believed were not appropriate uses of government resources.

An administration official offered a different view of the strain around Vance’s travel, telling NBC News that the vice president’s schedule can change quickly because of important meetings and events that take precedence over earlier plans. The official said those shifts can create pressure for the Secret Service.

The official also said Vance has young children, unlike recent vice presidents, and tries to spend as much time with them as possible. That family reality, the official said, adds another element to the protective assignment.

On the Marine Two trip cited in the MS Now report, the official told NBC News that flying from the vice president’s official residence to Joint Base Andrews is the most common helicopter route for the vice president. The official said that route requires less support from local law enforcement and other resources than a motorcade.

How does this fit into the administration’s leak probes?

The removal comes as the Trump administration has pursued investigations tied to leaks to journalists. NBC News reported that the Justice Department recently issued subpoenas to New York Times reporters who covered security concerns involving the new Air Force One.

A judge was set to hear the Times’ challenge to those subpoenas Thursday. The Justice Department has said its investigation targets people leaking classified information, not the reporters.

NBC News also reported that the administration last month tried to force four journalists to testify before a federal grand jury, then reversed course after The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post objected.

This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.