Ethics watchdogs question necessity of the US secretary of state flying between DC and Gainesville so often

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has emerged as a superfan of the University of Florida’s football team, spending more than $1.2m of taxpayers’ money on frequent personal trips to watch them play, a report published on Wednesday claims.

Ethics watchdogs have questioned the necessity of the country’s top diplomat shuttling so often between Washington DC and Gainesville, where his son Anthony has a walk-on role as a running back for the team known as the Gators.

An investigation by the Washington Post found that Rubio has attended at least 10 games in the last two seasons, including five this fall, and that of 23 total trips made to Gainesville on military aircraft, 15 were “personal” in nature.