A State Department official is pushing back hard against a Washington Post report criticizing Secretary of State Marco Rubio for flying on military aircraft to attend football games at the University of Florida, where his son plays and where Rubio himself once attended.
The Post story, headlined “Flying by pricey military jet, Rubio rarely misses a Florida football game,” reported that Rubio’s personal flights have cost the government more than $1.2 million. But the same article acknowledged that Rubio is required to travel by government plane whenever he visits his alma mater.
Like the defense secretary and the directors of the FBI and CIA, Rubio is barred from flying commercial for security reasons. When he travels for personal reasons, he’s required to reimburse the government the equivalent of an economy-fare ticket, according to the Post’s own reporting.
Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson called out the newspaper on X, arguing the story undercut itself.
“Post’s own story quotes watchdogs saying this isn’t a story and there’s nothing here,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson pointed out that Rubio is required to use military aircraft, that he reimburses the government for personal travel, and that he is “entirely unapologetic and will continue to attend as many of his family’s events as his jobs allow.”
The Post report also compared Rubio’s travel to scrutiny faced by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during the Biden administration, who was audited over personal travel. Johnson called that comparison “moronic,” noting that the transportation secretary’s job does not require travel by military aircraft.
Rubio himself defended the trips in comments to the Post, saying, “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.”
A government ethics expert quoted in the Post’s story said Rubio’s travel complies with federal rules but “raises a question about stewardship of public money.”
The report drew additional criticism on social media. Former White House press advisor Pat Adams wrote that the Post was “trying to make a scandal out of Secretary Rubio traveling to attend his son’s football games,” adding, “They admit he’s required to travel by government plane and that his trips all comply with federal rules, but they published the story anyway to suggest impropriety.”
“Most parents do whatever they can to see their children compete, but the Washington Post tries to paint that as bad judgment. Completely absurd article,” Adams wrote.
Fox News contributor and former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a shorter take on X: “Washington Post confirms Secretary Rubio is a great dad.”
The Post’s report noted that senior officials have long used government planes for occasional personal travel, and that the practice became a formal requirement in 1993. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment, and the Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
