The Washington Post deployed its investigative apparatus to uncover a scandal at the highest levels of American government: Secretary of State Marco Rubio flew to watch his son Anthony play running back for the Florida Gators. The flights cost $1.2 million, the Post reported breathlessly — as though a Cabinet-level official using military aircraft is a lifestyle choice and not a continuity-of-government requirement.
Rubio's team didn't hedge. They flattened it.
Dylan Johnson, Rubio's assistant, posted a five-point response that dismantled the Post's framing line by line. The centerpiece: "Sec. Rubio is entirely unapologetic and will continue to attend as many of his family's events as his job allows — that includes his son's football games for his final year of college football." Not a careful statement workshopped by a press shop. A direct answer from someone who clearly enjoyed giving it.
The response laid out what the Post either didn't understand or chose to leave vague. Secretaries of State are required to use military aircraft under continuity-of-government protocols. This isn't optional. It isn't a perk. It's a security mandate that applies whether the destination is the G7 summit in Paris or Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. Rubio reimburses the government for the personal-travel portion of the cost — a detail the Post's own article buried beneath the $1.2 million figure.
The Post quoted watchdog groups to bolster its framing. Johnson pointed out that those same watchdogs, cited in the Post's own piece, found nothing improper about the travel. The story's own sources didn't support the story's own headline.
Anthony Rubio joined the Gators as a preferred walk-on in 2023. He scored a touchdown in the Gasparilla Bowl in December 2024. His father attended the September 6, 2025 game against South Florida and the October 31, 2026 matchup against Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. This is a kid in his final year of eligibility. The window to watch him play is closing whether the Washington Post approves or not.
The comparison the Post tried to draw was to Rubio's predecessors — unnamed former State Department officials who said his personal travel "appears to significantly outpace" theirs. No specific numbers for those predecessors. No names attached to the claim. Just "former officials said," the Beltway equivalent of "trust us."
What nobody at the Post mentioned was Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary who took heat for using government aircraft and whose travel patterns generated actual inspector general scrutiny. Rubio's team raised it. The Post didn't.
A father flew to watch his son's last college football games. The government got reimbursed. The watchdogs found nothing wrong. The Post ran it above the fold anyway.
Anthony Rubio is a senior. There aren't many games left.
