Florida sues federal government over cruise industry shutdown

Florida is suing the federal government to demand the reopening of the cruise line industry, Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday. The suit follows weeks of legal threats against the CDC's no-sail order implemented last March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

"It is time for us to vindicate the rights of the state in court and to vindicate the rights of tens of thousands of Floridians," DeSantis said in a news conference at the Port of Miami.  The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, names the CDC, Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. government as defendants. Prosecutors alleged that the cruise industry "has been singled out" as more Americans receive COVID-19 vaccines and begin to travel more. The lawsuit has asked to set aside and declare the no-sail order as unlawful immediately.