Florida officials slammed the Biden administration after it was reported that the White House is considering restricting domestic travel to the Sunshine State, due to a rise in variant coronavirus cases in the state.
The Miami Herald reported on Wednesday that Biden’s health officials are seriously thinking about restricting travel in and out of the state, though no official decision has been made.
In a statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that this is an ongoing discussion, and said it would continue to “review public health options for containing and mitigating spread of the virus.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Biden that any “unconstitutional” attempt to restrict Florida’s travel would be met with opposition.
“Any attempt to restrict or lock down Florida by the federal government would be an attack on our state done purely for political purposes,” he said on Thursday morning.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also spoke out against the possible move, writing a letter to Biden that urges him not to listen to the health officials pushing him toward an “outrageous, authoritarian move that has no basis in law or science.”
“While we are all concerned that the pandemic continues to take a toll on our friends, family and communities, forbidding Americans from traveling across state lines will not force any strain of COVID-19 to cease. It would instead starve Florida’s businesses of much needed tourism dollars, keep family and friends apart, and set an unprecedented use of power on the American people,” Rubio wrote.
Rubio also pointed out how hypocritical it is for Biden to consider restricting domestic travel when he slammed former President Donald Trump as a racist for restricting international travel to China.
Day after Trump issued a #Covid travel ban on #China Joe Biden accused him of “hysteria, xenophobia, and fear mongering”
The following month he said banning travel from any part of the world will not stop coronavirus.
But now he is considering restrictions on #Florida travel pic.twitter.com/MuCulpT6Hz
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 11, 2021
