Secretary of State Marco Rubio has traveled to Florida on government aircraft at least 23 times since taking office in 2025, with 15 of those trips categorized as personal.
A report published in November 2026 revealed that the secretary has spent over $1.2 million in taxpayer funds on travel during his first two years in the role.
A review of Defense Department flight costs by the Washington Post estimates the total taxpayer expense for these trips exceeds $1.2 million. The travel frequently coincides with University of Florida football games, where Rubio’s son, Anthony, plays as a walk-on running back.
Anthony Rubio, a senior, has played in four games over his four-year tenure, gaining 75 yards in that time. The elder Rubio, a University of Florida alumnus, often coordinates these trips to arrive at the Gainesville Regional Airport, where he is met by security officers in unmarked SUVs.
Rubio Uses Military Aircraft for Gator Football Games
The State Department reported that Rubio has attended at least 10 Gators football games since he began his tenure, including five games during the fall of 2026. On November 7, 2026, Rubio arrived in Gainesville via a U.S. Air Force C-37 aircraft to attend a game in which the Florida Gators lost to Oklahoma 7:23.
He primarily travels aboard Gulfstream C-37A and C-37B jets, which the Defense Department bills other federal agencies approximately $9,100 per hour to operate. On three separate occasions, he utilized a larger Boeing C-32A—a model typically reserved for the vice president—which carries an hourly operational cost of roughly $18,600.
The Washington Post estimated that round-trip commercial tickets between Washington and Gainesville on game days average $820. The newspaper calculated that Rubio’s total reimbursements would likely fall between $18,000 and $33,000, which represents a small fraction of the total operational costs incurred by the military jets.
1. The Secretary of State (like POTUS, VP, SecWar, and others) is REQUIRED to use military aircraft to maintain access to secure communications at all times and comply with continuity of government protocols. 2. @SecRubio is entirely unapologetic and will continue to attend as… https://t.co/mfSM9EdAb0
Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson defended the use of military jets, stating the secretary “is REQUIRED to use military aircraft to maintain access to secure communications at all times and comply with continuity of government protocols.” Johnson added that the secretary “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.”
Regarding his personal attendance at family events, Rubio said, “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.”
Comparative Flight Data
The Washington Post analysis indicates that Rubio’s personal travel frequency significantly outpaces that of his predecessors. Former State Department officials said that Antony Blinken, who served under the Biden administration, utilized government aircraft for personal travel only a few times per year.
At the time, Rubio wrote, “American taxpayers deserve assurances that their tax dollars are not wasted by the government’s highest officials.” That investigation concluded that Buttigieg had followed federal rules, with government jets accounting for 11 percent of his total plane travel at a cost of $59,000, a figure significantly lower than the costs associated with the current secretary of state’s travel.
Ethics Counsel Questions Stewardship of Taxpayer Funds
Cynthia Brown, senior ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, questioned the stewardship of taxpayer dollars. “If this travel becomes something that is undermining the integrity of your service, are you really taking care of taxpayer dollars the way that you’re obligated to as a public official?” Brown asked.
The State Department and Rubio have declined to disclose the specific amount reimbursed to the government for these flights. While the agency confirms that reimbursements are made, the exact figures are rarely made public.