A top State Department official went on a swanky trip through the Mediterranean paid for by a tech billionaire, a new report has revealed.
Sarah Rogers, the state under secretary for public diplomacy, went on a vacation to Egypt, Georgia, and Greece in November 2025, paid for by Patrick Collison, the CEO of financial services giant Stripe, according to a preliminary financial disclosure obtained by The Washington Post.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reminded his subordinates to follow ethics rules just last month.
The disclosure indicated that Collison covered the expenses for an entire group that included Rogers. She described Collison as a “pre-existing friend predating my government service” and said they went on an excursion “for purposes of tourism.” She valued the gift from Collison at $11,900.
A State Department attorney has reviewed the disclosure, but it has not been certified by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, which sets ethics standards for the executive branch.
Ethics experts told The Post that the trip falls into an ethical gray area since federal regulations make an exception for gifts “motivated by a family relationship or personal friendship rather than the position of the employee,” though they said officials should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Sarah Rogers is the under secretary for public diplomacy at the State Department.
A State Department official told the Daily Beast that Rogers had known Collison for years before she joined the agency, and the trip was planned before her confirmation in October 2025.
The official also said the estimated value of the trip represented a high-end range of equivalent commercial airfare and other expenses. Rogers has never been involved in any government matter connected with Stripe, the official added.
A spokesperson for Collison, meanwhile, said he has been friends with Rogers for “several years” and has organized a group trip annually for the past eight years.
Tech billionaire Patrick Collison is the CEO of financial services firm Stripe.
Brian Lawless – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
During the November trip, the group visited “museums and historical sites in various cities, including the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Tbilisi’s churches, and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum,” the spokesperson said, adding that there were “no business meetings conducted” on the trip and that Stripe has no involvement with the State Department.
Just last month, the White House asked another high-profile State Department official to step down after a Wall Street Journal exposé. Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s ex fiance, was asked to resign after she was busted asking a Trump donor to wire her $100,000 to pay off an American Express credit card.
The Guilfoyle scandal prompted Secretary of State Marco Rubio to send out a stern warning to staff.
“As part of demonstrating our personal and professional integrity, I expect employees to avoid conflicts of interest in our work, to act impartially, and to avoid using our public offices for private gain,” Rubio said in correspondence obtained by Bloomberg. “We each have a personal obligation to comply with our government ethics rules.”
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