Sunshine State sues government to permit cruise ships to sail

"We don’t believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data," DeSantis said.

By Alex Nitzberg

Published: April 8, 2021 4:32pm

Updated: April 8, 2021 5:18pm

The Sunshine State is suing for cruise ships to be permitted to operate again after being sidelined amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“

"We're filing a lawsuit against the federal government and the CDC demanding that our cruise ships be reopened immediately," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared on Thursday. "This will be something that we believe we have every legal right to insist upon. We don't believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data. And I think we have a good chance for success."

DeSantis argued that people will simply head elsewhere for cruises if Florida is not an option.

"People are still gonna go on cruises," the governor said during the news conference at the Port of Miami. "Instead of flying to Miami, spending money to stay in our hotels, spending money to eat in our restaurants before they get on the ship, they're gonna fly to the Bahamas and they're gonna get on the ships from the Bahamas and they're gonna spend the money in the Bahamas and then they're gonna do the same thing that they would've done, it just won't be helping the state of Florida and it won't be helping our folks here who really depend on it," he said.