BREAKING: Puerto Rico's House of Representatives OKs Pedro Pierluisi as secretary of state, clearing a hurdle to governorship.
Proposed Secretary of State Pedro Pierluisi speaks during his confirmation hearing at the House of Representatives, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, August 2, 2019. As Gov. Ricardo Rossello is expected to leave office in a few hours, the Puerto Rican House of Representatives is expected to vote on Pierluisi's confirmation Friday afternoon.
The confusion sowed bitterness and pessimism among Puerto Ricans about the fate of their island, which has been battered by years of bankruptcy and Hurricane Maria in 2017, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Only days ago, there was jubilation over the success of the popular movement to force Rosselló out of office over mismanagement and a series of leaked chats in which he and advisers denigrated a wide range of Puerto Ricans.
The secretary of state is next to line for the governor’s chair if the chief executive resigns. But the issue of who is rightfully governor is almost certain to go to court. Some believe that because the legislature was not in session when Pierluisi was appointed, he’s already secretary of state unless the legislature rejects him.The secretary of state is followed in the line of succession by the secretaries of justice and the treasury.
Several legislators have accused Pierluisi of a conflict of interest because he worked for a law firm that represents a federal control board overseeing the island’s finances, a body that has repeatedly clashed with local officials over demands for austerity measures. The board was created by Congress to oversee the restructuring of more than $70 billion in public debt after Puerto Rico declared a form of bankruptcy.
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