>>7314416

fwiw WSJ did a significant rewrite of this article incl. brought in 3rd writer:

Puerto Rico’s Outgoing Governor Seeks to Install His Successor

Move likely sets up island for further leadership confusion and possible legal challenges

By Andrew Scurria,

Laura Kusisto and

Arian Campo-Flores

Updated Aug. 2, 2019 5:54 pm ET

Puerto Rico’s outgoing governor defied top lawmakers and said his preferred successorPedro Pierluisi would be sworn in, likely setting up the island territory for further leadership confusion and drawing potential lawsuits in the coming days.

Ricardo Rosselló, who officially exited the office at 5 p.m. Friday, became Puerto Rico’s first sitting governor to resign. Mr. Pierluisi was confirmed to the secretary of state position Friday afternoon, the next in the line of succession, by the House of Representatives but not the Senate, raising legal doubts about his hold on power.

Puerto Rico was gripped with uncertainty for much of Friday about who would succeed Mr. Rosselló. He was driven from office by a string of scandals that brought thousands of residents into the streets of San Juan to demand he step down.

Mr. Rosselló picked Mr. Pierluisi, an established pro-statehood voice and former representative for the island in Congress, to replace him at a time of deep public mistrust toward government.

The New Progressive Party, which controls the legislature, failed in recent days to coalesce around him, though he was confirmed Friday by the House of Representatives to the secretary of state position.

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz tweeted his chamber wouldn’t vote on Mr. Pierluisi’s nomination until Wednesday.

The political tumult is affecting Puerto Rico’s access to the federal dollars it needs to rebuild the damage from Hurricane Maria and extricate itself from a court-supervised bankruptcy. U.S. authorities have tightened their grip on Medicaid funding and Federal Emergency Management Agency dollars, pressuring the next governor to repair Puerto Rico’s standing in Washington.

1/3

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-delays-puerto-ricos-disaster-funding-awaiting-political-stability-11564768381

>>7314988

On Friday, the Trump administration said it would also restrict more than $8 billion of disaster-mitigation aid for Puerto Rico until there was political stability and stricter oversight in place.

“With the history of corruption and mismanagement of federal funds, the people of Puerto Rico deserve true leadership that will build economic opportunity,” said Russ Vought, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. “Until proper controls are in place, releasing additional hardworking taxpayer funds would be irresponsible.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said a federal monitor will be installed to oversee the mitigation funds, which are earmarked to fortify Puerto Rico against future natural disasters.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said the political unrest in Puerto Rico and financial capacity issues on the U.S. Virgin Islands were delaying the distribution of aid to parts of the mainland U.S.

“Untangling these funds from each other will help recovery and planning move forward in communities capable of properly and prudently disbursing funds,” he said.

Lawmakers in the Puerto Rico House grilled Mr. Pierluisi on Friday over his work as an attorney for the unpopular oversight board supervising Puerto Rico’s finances, suggesting he would have a conflict of interest as governor. Yet the House voted later in the day, 26-21, with one abstention, to confirm Mr. Pierluisi.

2/3

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-delays-puerto-ricos-disaster-funding-awaiting-political-stability-11564768381

>>7315008

Congress last spring allocated about $16 billion of aid for areas that were hit by natural disasters in 2015 through 2017. The funds can be used to fortify vulnerable areas against future hurricanes and other disasters, including through protecting coastlines, strengthening roads, bridges, tunnels and electrical grids, and elevating homes.

HUD will now divide that aid into two tranches. The first will be distributed to Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, California, Missouri and Georgia as soon as they submit plans for how they will spend it. Officials said those plans are expected to be submitted by February at the latest, and the funds could be distributed a couple of months later.

The second tranche will be for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Officials didn’t specify how long it would be before funds are distributed to Puerto Rico. A federal financial monitor would assemble a team of people with experience in financial management, construction cost estimating and auditing to supervise distribution of the funds.

Puerto Rico still has access to $1.5 billion of funds for rebuilding, which was already approved for distribution. The territory has spent just over $800,000 of it.

This is “another in a long line of delays in getting these badly needed funds to the island,” said Diane Yentel, president and chief executive of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “Withholding these mitigation grants means that Puerto Ricans cannot even begin planning for how they will invest these funds to make their communities more resilient to future natural disasters.”

Write to Andrew Scurria at Andrew.Scurria@wsj.com, Laura Kusisto at laura.kusisto@wsj.com and Arian Campo-Flores at arian.campo-flores@wsj.com

3/3

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-delays-puerto-ricos-disaster-funding-awaiting-political-stability-11564768381