Rubio Flew to Florida Games at Least 23 Times on Government Aircraft: Post Puts Flight Costs Above $1.2 Million
The Washington Post reported on November 11 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has flown to Gainesville, Florida, aboard government aircraft at least 23 times since taking office last year, including 15 trips the State Department characterized as solely personal. He has attended at least 10 University of Florida Gators football games, including at least five this fall. His son Anthony is a senior walk-on running back for the Gators, and Rubio himself is a Florida graduate.
Using Defense Department flight-hour rates, the Post estimated the trips have cost the government more than $1.2 million, with the purely personal trips put at about $770,000 and mixed-use trips at about another $443,900. The secretary of state is barred from flying commercially for security reasons and must reimburse the government the equivalent of an economy fare for personal travel; Rubio and the State Department declined to say how much he has repaid. Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said Rubio uses military aircraft to ensure continuity of operations and government and access to secure communications at all times, and will continue to do so.
Government ethics experts told the Post that Rubio's travel complies with federal rules but raises a question about stewardship of public money. As a senator, Rubio had asked for an inspector general review of then Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's use of government aircraft; the inspector general cleared Buttigieg, whose eight trips cost about $59,000 in total. Rubio's most recent game was on November 7, when he arrived in Gainesville aboard an Air Force C-37 and watched Florida lose 23-7 to Oklahoma; Anthony did not play.
Source: The Washington Post
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国务卿卢比奥2025年1月的官方肖像。照片：美国国务院，公共领域，经维基共享资源 / Official portrait of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, January 2025. Photo by the U.S. Department of State, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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