Rubio created controversy after repeatedly taking military planes to Florida to watch his son’s football games.

Washington Post Report on 11th, Secretary of Staterubio (Marco Rubio) flew on taxpayer-funded government military aircraft and rarely attended his son’s football games at the University of Florida, sparking controversy over private use of public funds. Rubio said it’s a very familiar thing for parents to be there to support their kids when they compete.

The State Department confirmed that Rubio, a University of Florida alumnus, has flown on government flights to attend at least 10 Florida Gators games since taking office last year. Also, Rubio took a government planeFlorida At least 23 times in Gainesville, 15 of which were classified solely as personal visits by the State Department.

According to the rules, Secretaries of State, like the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), are prohibited from flying on commercial airlines due to security reasons. They will have to travel by government plane. If he uses the government aircraft for personal purposes, he will have to reimburse the government for the cost of the economy class ticket. Rubio and the State Department declined to disclose the repayment amount.

Former State Department officials said that since Rubio took office more than a year ago, the frequency of personal visits has been far greater than that of previous secretaries of state.

It is reported that on a Saturday afternoon in early November this year, a white C-37 military executive aircraft landed at Gainesville Regional Airport near the University of Florida. The passenger on the plane wearing a blue polo shirt was Rubio, the Florida Gators’ most famous parent. Security personnel patrolled the northern part of the small regional airport before a convoy of five unmarked SUVs arrived to ferry passengers to the complex by special aircraft.

Half an hour later, Rubio came to the University of Florida stadium and talked to team coach John Sumrall.

Rubio’s son Anthony is a non-scholarship walk-on running back for the Gators. Lubio has flown on government planes at least five times this fall to watch his son play.

Anthony is currently a senior and has very little playing time. He played in only four games in four years of college and accumulated 75 receiving yards.

Rubio enjoys American football and was a member of the South Miami High School and Tarquio College teams. After Rubio finished his freshman year, Takio College suddenly closed, so he first transferred to Santa Fe Community College, and a year later transferred to the University of Florida, where he finished his playing career as a defender.

The report reported that based on rates announced by the Defense Department, Rubio’s cumulative spending on the use of government aircraft exceeded 1.2 million yuan.

Cynthia Brown, senior ethics adviser at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an ethics watchdog group, pointed out that many situations are more about bad perception than illegality. Although flying on a chartered flight may not be technically inappropriate, public disclosure is very important.