Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that he and other officials spent roughly 90 minutes aboard Air Force One uncertain whether to intervene after discovering a person who appeared unresponsive in a conference room.

Rubio disclosed the incident during an appearance on the Katie Miller Podcast, describing how he and colleagues returning from China grappled with whether the individual might have been experiencing a medical emergency. The officials hesitated to act, concerned about the potential embarrassment of waking someone who was simply sleeping deeply.

The Dilemma

“We spent about 90 minutes sort of debating should we make a move?” Rubio recalled during the podcast. “Because it’s embarrassing if you wake them up,” he explained, noting the person could simply respond that they were resting.

The alternative weighed heavily on the group’s minds. “But if they were dead, like what do you do? You have a dead body on the plane,” Rubio said. “Who’s going to – what do you deal with that?”

Rubio noted the person had slept through “a lot of noise” and was not “responding to any of the stimulus.” He also mentioned that “the breathing pattern was difficult,” which heightened concerns among those present.

The Resolution

No physician was summoned and no attempt was made to wake the individual during the extended deliberation. “Luckily, the person was fine,” Rubio said without elaborating further.

Rubio declined to identify the sleeping individual, leaving details about the person’s identity, the flight date, and which other officials were involved unconfirmed. The mystery prompted speculation on social media, though no credible information emerged about who was aboard the aircraft.

Context and Response

The anecdote gained additional attention because Rubio had addressed a separate sleeping-related question weeks earlier. During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu asked whether Rubio had witnessed President Trump fall asleep in meetings.

“I’ve never seen him fall asleep,” Rubio responded. “On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem,” he added, noting Trump’s demanding schedule.

Lieu challenged the answer and said he possessed video evidence from a cabinet meeting. “Secretary Rubio, I’m going to show you, in a moment, a video that shows you just lied to Congress,” Lieu said. Rubio maintained his position, and no formal congressional action related to the exchange has been reported.