The Secretary of State, has spent more than $1.2 million of taxpayer money flying to watch his son’s college football games, according to a Washington Post investigation. Anthony Rubio is a walk-on running back for the University of Florida Gators. He has carried the ball 14 times in four years. He has scored one touchdown. He has played in four competitive games.
Marco Rubio has attended at least 10 games in the last two seasons. Five this fall alone. He has made 23 trips to Gainesville on military aircraft. Fifteen of them were “personal.”
The Cost
Rubio cannot fly commercial. Neither can the defense secretary or the FBI director. That is the rule. But his use of government transport “appears to significantly outpace that of his predecessors,” the Post reported.
Using published Defense Department rates, the Post calculated that the flights alone have cost more than $1.2 million. On November 7, Rubio arrived in Gainesville on an Air Force C-37, a VIP transport plane, to watch the Gators lose 23-7 to Oklahoma. His son did not play.
Officials who use military transport are required to reimburse the government the equivalent of an economy-fare ticket. That reimbursement is far less than the actual cost of the flight. Rubio and the State Department declined to say how much he has reimbursed the public purse.
The Hypocrisy
In 2023, Rubio demanded an investigation into Pete Buttigieg, then the transportation secretary, for his use of government jets for personal trips. “American taxpayers deserve assurances that their tax dollars are not wasted by the government’s highest officials,” Rubio wrote.
The inspector general cleared Buttigieg of any wrongdoing. He had taken eight trips at a total cost of $59,000.
Rubio has spent $1.2 million. Twenty times more on his son’s football games.
When asked about the comparison, a State Department official called it “moronic.” He said Rubio is required to use military aircraft for security reasons. That is true. But it does not explain why he needed to attend 10 games in two seasons. It does not explain why he needed to fly to Gainesville five times this fall. Or why the Secretary of State, the country’s top diplomat, needed to be on the sidelines for a game his son did not play in.
The Bottom Line
Marco Rubio spent over $1.2 million in taxpayer money flying to his son’s football games. He attended at least 10 games in two seasons. His son has played in four games and carried the ball 14 times. Rubio has defended the trips, saying he will continue to attend as many family events as his job allows.
My Opinion
Marco Rubio spent $1.2 million of your money to watch his son sit on the bench.
Let that sink in. The Secretary of State, the man responsible for American diplomacy, has been flying around the country on military aircraft to attend college football games. His son is a walk-on. His son has carried the ball 14 times in four years. His son did not play in the game Rubio attended on November 7.
And Rubio is not sorry. He told the Washington Post he will continue to attend “as many events that are important to me personally and to my family as possible.” His spokesman said Rubio is “entirely unapologetic.”
Of course he is. Why would he be sorry? He is not paying for it. You are.
This is the same Marco Rubio who demanded an investigation into Pete Buttigieg for taking eight personal trips on government aircraft at a cost of $59,000. Rubio called it a waste of taxpayer money. He said the American people deserved assurances. He was right then. He is a hypocrite now.
The difference between Buttigieg and Rubio is not just the cost. It is the scale. It is the arrogance. It is the fact that Rubio is using military aircraft — aircraft that cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour to operate — to attend football games.
His spokesman says Rubio is required to use military aircraft for security. Fine. But security does not require him to attend every game. Security does not require him to fly to Gainesville five times in one season or to spend $1.2 million to watch his son not play.
This is what happens when people in power stop seeing taxpayer money as real.
