FLYING HIGH

Rubio’s $1.2M Military Jet Perk Revealed

The secretary of state is racking up a hefty bill.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has racked up a $1.2 million taxpayer-funded flight bill for trips to the college town where his son plays football, according to a report.

Rubio traveled to Gainesville, Florida, aboard government aircraft at least 23 times since taking office last year, including visits for at least 10 Gators football games, the State Department confirmed to the Washington Post.

His son Anthony plays as a walk-on running back for the Gators, and Rubio has flown in for at least five games this fall.

The department classified 15 of Rubio’s trips as “solely personal.”

Those personal flights cost about $770,600. Seven trips combining personal and official travel added $443,900, according to the Post’s calculations using Defense Department hourly rates. The newspaper excluded his most recent trip because the department did not answer questions about it.

He primarily traveled aboard Gulfstream C-37A and C-37B jets, which the Defense Department billed other federal agencies about $9,100 an hour to use. On three trips, he took a larger Boeing C-32A, costing about $18,600 an hour.

The secretary has defended the trips, telling the Post that “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.”

Rubio, like the defense secretary and the directors of the FBI and CIA, is prohibited from flying on commercial airlines for security reasons. He must use government aircraft, even for personal travel, but is required to reimburse the government only the equivalent of an economy-class fare—a fraction of the actual cost.

Rubio and the State Department declined to disclose how much he has reimbursed.

The Post estimated that commercial round-trip tickets between Washington and Gainesville on game days averaged $820. At that rate, his reimbursements would have totaled about $18,000.

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Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson defended the military flights as necessary to “ensure continuity of operations, continuity of government and access to secure communications at all times. And he will continue to do so.”

Ironically, during the Biden administration, Rubio demanded answers about another Cabinet official’s flying habits.

“American taxpayers deserve assurances that their tax dollars are not wasted by the government’s highest officials,” he wrote in 2023, requesting an investigation into then-transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg’s government aircraft use.

The Transportation Department inspector general ultimately found that Buttigieg complied with federal rules. His government aircraft travel totaled $59,000.

Rubio joins other administration officials facing scrutiny over transportation perks.

MS NOW reported that Vice President JD Vance requested a Marine Corps helicopter to accompany his young son to a golf lesson at Joint Base Andrews. Severe weather canceled the planned flight, according to two people with knowledge of the flight plans.

FBI Director Kash Patel also made headlines for ordering agents in his girlfriend’s security detail to escort one of her allegedly drunk friends home after a night of partying.

The Daily Beast has contacted the State Department for comment.

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Isabel van BrugenFreelance Writer

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