Live updates: Florida Cabinet meeting underway in Jerusalem

Judge denies emergency motion to prevent meeting

A judge in Florida denied an emergency motion from the First Amendment Foundation seeking to prevent Gov. Ron DeSantis from convening a Cabinet meeting during a trip to Jerusalem.

Here's the latest on the Florida Cabinet meeting happening in Israel Wednesday:

9:20 a.m.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet are meeting in Israel.

The meeting opened Wednesday with the signing of a proclamation expressing Florida's support of Israel. It was followed by discussions on terrorism, water supplies and emergency response.

The First Amendment Foundation and a coalition of news outlets sued to stop the meeting, saying it violates the state's open government laws because public didn't have full access.  A judge denied the emergency motion on Tuesday because court papers had not been served yet to attorneys for the governor and cabinet members.

The meeting was live-streamed in the Cabinet meeting room in the state Capitol, though technical glitches hampered the start of the meeting and sound quality was often bad.

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8:09 a.m.

A judge in Florida denied an emergency motion from the First Amendment Foundation seeking to prevent Gov. Ron DeSantis from convening a Cabinet meeting during a trip to Jerusalem.

The judge said he couldn't stop the Wednesday morning meeting because attorneys for DeSantis and Cabinet officials had not been served with court papers.

Foundation President Barbara Petersen says an emergency motion for reconsideration has been filed. A coalition of media organizations says the meeting is in violation of Florida's open government laws, which require Cabinet meetings to be accessible to the public.

The governor is on a four-day trade mission to Israel. His office says the meeting is only ceremonial. It is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
 


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