Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revealed a bizarre episode aboard Air Force One in which some of the nation’s highest-ranking officials spent roughly 90 minutes wondering whether an unidentified passenger was sleeping — or dead.

Rubio recounted the unusual incident during an appearance on the *Katie Miller Podcast*, saying it occurred while administration officials were returning from China.

“We spent about 90 minutes sort of debating should we make a move?” Rubio recalled.

“Should I call the doc?” he continued. “Should we deal with this?”

According to Rubio, the individual was sleeping in an Air Force One conference room and remained completely motionless despite considerable activity and noise around them.

The officials were reluctant to intervene because of the potentially embarrassing prospect of waking someone who was simply enjoying an exceptionally deep sleep.

“Because it’s embarrassing if you wake them up,” Rubio said, imagining the person responding, “Oh, I was just sleeping.”

But the alternative was considerably more alarming.

“But if they were dead, like what do you do?” Rubio said. “You have a dead body on the plane.”

Rubio said the individual had slept through “a lot of noise” and did not appear to be “responding to any of the stimulus,” increasing concerns among those watching the situation.

He also described the person’s breathing pattern as “difficult,” further raising fears that something could be wrong.

Despite those concerns, Rubio said officials spent approximately an hour and a half debating what to do rather than immediately waking the individual or summoning a physician.

Ultimately, they didn’t have to make the decision.

“Luckily, the person was fine,” Rubio said.

The secretary of state declined to identify the unusually deep sleeper, leaving one of the strangest details of the story unresolved.

That secrecy quickly generated speculation and jokes on social media, including an unsupported suggestion that the mystery passenger could have been Sen. Mitch McConnell.

There is no evidence supporting that claim or any of the other identities floated online, and Rubio provided no clues about who was involved.

The story attracted additional attention because Rubio had recently faced questions about another sleep-related controversy involving President Donald Trump.

During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing roughly a month earlier, Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu asked Rubio whether he had attended multiple meetings where Trump fell asleep.

“I’ve never seen him fall asleep,” Rubio responded.

“On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem,” he added.

Rubio said Trump’s demanding schedule frequently keeps administration officials busy and noted that the president sometimes contacts him early in the morning.

Lieu disputed Rubio’s account and pointed to footage from a Cabinet meeting that he claimed showed Trump with his eyes closed while Rubio was speaking.

“Secretary Rubio, I’m going to show you, in a moment, a video that shows you just lied to Congress,” Lieu said.

Rubio stood by his testimony that he had never personally witnessed Trump fall asleep. No formal congressional action stemming from Lieu’s accusation has been reported.

Meanwhile, the central mystery surrounding Rubio’s Air Force One story remains unsolved.

Rubio did not identify the passenger, specify exactly when the flight occurred or reveal which other officials participated in the 90-minute debate.

With the passenger ultimately waking up unharmed, Rubio appeared able to look back on the strange episode with considerably more humor than those aboard the aircraft apparently felt at the time.