Puerto Rico's governor Rosselló resigns, new governor sworn in

August 4, 2019

On Friday, Ricardo Rosselló Nevares resigned as the governor of United States commonwealth of Puerto Rico and was sworn in at 5 p.m. local time (2100 ) as Puerto Rico's new governor. The Puerto Rican constitution stipulates the secretary of state succeeds to the governorship following a vacancy, but the post remained unfilled until Pierluisi was appointed to the position.

The exiting governor Rosselló appointed Pierluisi as secretary of state. Earlier on Friday, the commonwealth's confirmed him, but the  had not confirmed him. The constitution requires both houses of the to confirm nominees.

Pierluisi said from Hall of Mirrors,  The Senate was set to meet on Wednesday, but at nearly the same time as Pierluisi's comments, the Senate announced it would meet on Monday.

Senate President expressed opposition to the swearing-in of Pierluisi, and suggested there were not enough votes in the Senate for his confirmation. One senator, Eduardo Bhatia, said he intended to sue over the controversy. , the mayor of the capitol city of San Juan, said she would challenge Pierluisi's oath of office in court.

Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez Garced, the would-be successor should Pierluisi remain unconfirmed by the Senate, has expressed she is uninterested in taking up the office of governor but would do so if she did succeed to it, according to Reuters.

Pierluisi is the former Puerto Rican non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. While Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, it is not a state and does not get representation in the U.S. Senate, a vote in the U.S. House, nor any vote in the that elects the U.S. President.