Marco Rubio’s Military Flights to Florida Cost Over $1.2 Million, Washington Post Investigation Finds

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken at least 23 trips aboard military aircraft to Gainesville, Florida, accumulating more than $1.2 million in estimated flight costs while regularly attending his son’s college football games, a Washington Post investigation has revealed. ⠀ Rubio has attended at least 10 University of Florida football games since taking office in January 2025. His son Anthony is a running back for the Florida Gators. Of the 23 trips, the State Department classified 15 as entirely personal, while seven combined personal and official business. The newspaper’s cost calculation excluded Rubio’s most recent trip. ⠀ Using Defense Department aircraft rates, the Post estimated that the 15 personal trips cost approximately $770,600, with another $443,900 spent on mixed-use travel. Rubio generally flew aboard military Gulfstream jets costing about $9,100 per flight hour, occasionally using larger aircraft costing $18,600 an hour. ⠀ Federal security regulations require the secretary of state to travel on government aircraft, even for personal trips. However, Rubio must reimburse the government only for the equivalent of an economy-class airline ticket, rather than the full operating cost. ⠀ The newspaper estimated those reimbursements at roughly $18,000, but Rubio and the State Department declined to disclose how much he had actually repaid. ⠀ Rubio defended the trips, saying he intends to continue attending important family events whenever possible. The State Department argued that military aircraft are necessary to maintain secure communications and ensure continuity of government. ⠀ Ethics experts said the travel appeared to comply with federal rules but raised questions about responsible spending. In 2023, Rubio himself demanded scrutiny of then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s use of government aircraft. A subsequent investigation found that Buttigieg had followed the rules.