U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly made more than 20 trips to Gainesville, Florida, on government aircraft since taking office in 2025. A Washington Post investigation estimated that the flights cost more than $1.2 million, with many coinciding with University of Florida football games attended by his son, Anthony, a walk-on running back for the team.
Marco Rubio’s military flights draw financial scrutiny
Since taking office in 2025, Rubio has traveled to Gainesville on government aircraft at least 23 times, according to The Washington Post. He attended at least 10 Florida Gators games, including five during the fall 2026 season. The State Department classified 15 trips as “solely personal,” with estimated aircraft costs of approximately $770,600. Seven trips classified as a mix of personal and official travel added another $443,900, according to the Washington Post investigation.
Rubio primarily traveled on Gulfstream C-37A and C-37B jets, which the Defense Department bills other federal agencies approximately $9,100 per flight hour to use. He also traveled on a larger Boeing C-32A on three occasions, at an estimated rate of $18,600 per hour.
The secretary of state is required to use government aircraft for security and secure-communications reasons. However, officials must reimburse the government for personal travel based on applicable commercial airfare rates. Neither Rubio nor the State Department disclosed how much he had repaid.
The Post estimated that Rubio’s reimbursement for the Gainesville trips would amount to approximately $18,000. That figure could exceed $33,000 if related travel between Washington and South Florida were also considered personal.
Defending his travel, Rubio told the publication that he would continue attending as many events important to him and his family as possible. Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson also defended the trips, saying Rubio was “entirely unapologetic.” He said that he would reimburse the government for all personal travel.
Nevertheless, ethics experts have questioned the frequency of Rubio’s trips and the lack of transparency surrounding the reimbursements. Former State Department officials told the Post that Rubio’s personal travel appeared to significantly outpace that of his predecessor, Antony Blinken. He reportedly took personal government-aircraft trips only a few times a year.
Critics have also recalled Rubio’s 2023 request for an inspector general investigation into former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg‘s use of government aircraft. Buttigieg took eight trips on government jets at a total cost of $59,000. The Transportation Department inspector general ultimately found that he had followed the applicable rules.
