Puerto Rico Gets 3rd Governor In Less Than A Week

Puerto Rico now has its 3rd governor in less than a week after the island territory's Supreme Court ruled Pedrio Pierluisi's swearing in was unconstitutional.

From the Washington Post:

The ruling cleared the way for Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez Garced to become governor. Vázquez Garced, who faces widespread mistrust from Puerto Ricans and previously said she did not want the job, was sworn in at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“Puerto Rico needs certainty and stability,” Vázquez Garced said in a statement. “Our actions will be directed to that end and will always be first.”

Before he resigned on Friday in response to massive protests, embattled former governor Ricardo Rosselló appointed Pierluisi as secretary of state, the next in line for the governor’s seat. But only Puerto Rico’s House approved Pierluisi’s nomination before he was sworn in as governor on Friday.

Rosselló and Pierluisi pointed to a portion of a law of succession, amended in 2005, that permits a secretary of state to become governor without confirmation from both the House and the Senate.

On Sunday, Puerto Rico’s Senate filed a lawsuit challenging Pierluisi’s swearing in. The Supreme Court unanimously sided with the Senate, ruling that the 2005 amendment was unconstitutional. The order will take effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

BREAKING: Wanda Vázquez has been sworn in as Governor of Puerto Rico, the third in five days. pic.twitter.com/TUDX2IS6sT

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 7, 2019