Marco Rubio spends over $1.2m of taxpayer money to travel to his son's college football games. He is required to reimburse only around 3% of that amount

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has spent more than $1.2m of taxpayers’ money on frequent personal trips to watch the University of Florida’s football team play, according to a report by the Washington Post published Wednesday. Rubio has taken numerous trips to Gainesville, where his son Anthony has a walk-on role as a running back for Florida Gators football, as per the investigative piece.

Attended 10 games in 2 seasons

Rubio has attended at least 10 games over the last two seasons, including five this fall, according to the Washington Post. Of nearly two dozen total trips made to Gainesville on military aircraft, 15 were categorized as solely personal, the report said.


Rubio is barred from flying commercially due to security protocols that also cover the secretary of defense as well as the directors of FBI and CIA. The Post said the flights alone had cost more than $1.2m, citing defense department data on hourly cost of various kinds of military jets.

Rubio defends Florida trips

Rubio's most recent trip came on November 7, when he arrived in Gainesville aboard an Air Force C-37, a plane used for the VIP transport of high-ranking government officials.

The top diplomat was seen on the sidelines as the Gators lost 7-23 to Oklahoma. Anthony Rubio was not part of that game. In fact, Anthony has played only four competitive games in his four years at the university, according to ESPN.

In a statement to the Washington Post, Rubio defended his frequent trips to Florida. "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."

How much is Rubio required to pay back?

Officials who use military aircraft for personal travel are required to reimburse the government the equivalent of economy class fare. Rubio and the US state department refused to say how much he had reimbursed the national treasury, the Post reported.

Rubio's trips to Florida often include flights from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to the Homestead Air Reserve Base near Miami, and an additional flight from there to Gainesville, according to the Post.

The Post reported that average fare of commercial round-trip travel between any of Washington’s airports and the Gainesville Regional Airport on game days is $820. Based on that rate, Rubio is supposed to reimburse the government about $18,000.

And if his related travel between Washington and South Florida were also taken into account, the total reimbursement amount would cross $33,000.