Marco Rubio Defends $1.2 Million in Government Jet Travel Amid Frequent Trips to Son’s Football Games

Marco Rubio is facing questions about his use of government aircraft for personal trips.

Rubio, 55, has taken at least 23 trips aboard government aircraft to Gainesville, Florida, since taking office in 2025, with flights connected to those visits costing more than $1.2 million, according to a report TMZ published on Wednesday, November 11, citing an investigation by The Washington Post.

Many of the trips coincided with his son’s college football games.

Rubio’s son, Anthony, is a running back for the University of Florida Gators, and the politician has attended at least 10 of the team’s football games since becoming secretary of state, the outlet reported.

Of the 23 trips to Gainesville, 15 were classified by the State Department as exclusively personal travel, according to The Washington Post. The outlet estimated the total cost using military aircraft flight rates published by the Defense Department.

According to the article, the 15 personal trips cost approximately $770,600, while multiple trips combining personal and official business added another $443,900.

Per TMZ, Rubio defended his decision to attend his son’s games. “I have and will continue to try and make it to as many events that are important to me personally and to my family as possible,” he told The Washington Post.

Federal rules require the secretary of state to travel on government aircraft for security reasons, even when taking personal trips, the outlet reported. Rubio must reimburse the government the equivalent of a commercial economy airfare rather than the full cost of operating the aircraft.

Rubio and the State Department have not disclosed how much he has reimbursed the government, according to The Washington Post.

Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson also defended the travel, explaining via X that Rubio “is REQUIRED to use military aircraft to maintain access to secure communications at all times and comply with continuity of government protocols.”

Johnson added, “[Marco] is entirely unapologetic and will continue to attend as many of his family’s events as his jobs allow — that includes his son’s football games for his final year of college football.”

In the comment section of Johnson’s post, users were divided over Rubio’s travel expenses.

“The secure comms requirement is the part people skip past — it’s not a perk, it’s the whole point of the plane,” one supporter wrote.

Another defended Rubio, stating “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but @washingtonpost is making ado out of nothing. Secretary Rubio isn’t doing anything shady in this case, as long as he reimburses the travel.”

A third person was more critical, writing, “Yea post statements of his reimbursements. We’ll wait.”