The government of Ricardo Rosselló Nevares was formed in the weeks following the 2016 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election and ended prematurely on the first week of August 2019.
This government has the distinction of being the only constitutional government in Puerto Rico that ended before its four-year term expired, as Rosselló Nevares resigned on 2 August 2019 as a result of the massive protests stemming from the Telegramgate scandal. There was a period of five days between 2 August and 7 August 2019 where the designated Secretary of State Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia acted as governor, but the Puerto Rico Supreme Court vacated the office from after determining he was an invalid occupant and determined his actions during the period were null and void.
This led to the new government of Wanda Vázquez Garced as the 13th Constitutional Governor of Puerto Rico, along with her own cabinet.
Party breakdown Party breakdown of cabinet members, not including the governor:
New Progressive Party 20 Independents 3
The cabinet was composed of members of the PNP and at the highest point, three concurrent independents or technical positions (or people whose membership in a party was not clearly ascertained from any available media).
Members of the Cabinet The Puerto Rican Cabinet is led by the Governor, along with, starting in 1986., the Secretary of Governance. The Cabinet is composed of all members of the Constitutional Council of Secretaries (), who are the heads of the executive departments, along with other Cabinet-level officers who report directly to the Governor of Puerto Rico or to the Secretary of Governance, but who are not heads nor members of an executive office. All the Cabinet-level officers are at the same bureaucratic level as of the Secretaries
Office Name Party Term Governor Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosselló Nevares PNP 2 January 2017 – 2 August 2019 Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia PNP 2 August 2019 – 7 August 2019 Office of the Governor Secretariat of Governance William E. Villafañe Ramos PNP 2 January 2017 - 2 May 2018 Raúl Maldonado Gautier PNP 31 July 2018 – 29 January 2019 Ricardo J. Llerandi Cruz PNP 30 January 2019 – 2 August 2019 President of the Puerto Rico Planning Board María del Carmen Gordillo Pérez PNP 2 January 2017 – 2 January 2021Executive Director for Federal Affairs Carlos R. Mercader Pérez PNP 2 January 2017 – 30 April 2019Jennifer Storipan PNP 1 August 2019 – 15 January 2021 Council of Secretaries Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marín PNP 2 January 2017- 16 July 2019 Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia PNP 31 July 2019 - 2 August 2019 Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez Garced PNP 2 January 2017 – 7 August 2020 Secretary of the Treasury Raúl Maldonado Gautier PNP 2 January 2017 – 31 July 2018 Teresa «Teresita» Fuentes Marimón PNP 31 July 2018 - 27 January 2019 Raúl Maldonado Gautier PNP 29 January 2019 - 24 June 2019 Francisco Parés Alicea Ind. 24 June 2019 – Present Secretary of Education Julia Beatrice Keleher Ind. 2 January 2017 - 1 April 2019 Eligio Hernández Perez Ind. 8 April 2019 – 31 December 2020 Secretary of Labor and Human Resources Carlos José Saavedra Gutiérrez PNP 2 January 2017 - 8 May 2019 Briseida Torres Reyes PNP 8 May 2019 – 9 June 2020 Secretary of Transportation and Public Works Carlos Contreras Aponte PNP 2 January 2017 - 1 January 2021 Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce Manuel Laboy Rivera PNP 2 January 2017 – 1 January 2021Secretary of Health Rafael Rodríguez Mercado PNP 2 January 2017 – 13 March 2020 Secretary of Agriculture Carlos Alberto Flores Ortega PNP 2 January 2017 – 1 January 2021 Secretary of Consumer Affairs Michael Pierluisi Rojo PNP 2 January 2017 – 7 June 2019 Carmen Salgado Rodríguez PNP 9 June 2019 – 1 January 2021 Secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation Erik Rolón Suárez PNP 2 January 2017 –14 September 2019 Secretary of Family Affairs Glorimar Andújar Matos PNP 2 January 2017 – 19 January 2020 Secretary of Housing Fernando Gil Enseñat PNP 2 January 2017 – 19 January 2020 Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources Tania Vázquez Rivera PNP 2 January 2017 – 7 November 2019 Commissioner of Safety and Public Protection Héctor Pesquera Ind. 9 April 2012 - 10 April 2017 Secretary of Public Safety Héctor Pesquera Ind. 10 April 2017 - 2 April 2019 Elmer Román PNP 2 April 2019-December 2019 Secretary of Sports and Recreation Andrés Waldemar Volmar Méndez PNP 2 January 2017 – 12 January 2018 Adriana Sánchez Parés PNP 15 January 2018 – 1 January 2021 Other Cabinet-level officers Inspector General Ivelisse Torres Rivera PNP 16 January 2019 – Present President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank Christian Sobrino Vega PNP 2 January 2017 – 13 July 2019 Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority Gerardo José Portela Franco PNP 2 January 2017 – 31 July 2018 Christian Sobrino Vega PNP 1 August 2018 – 13 July 2019 Omar J. Marrero Díaz PNP 31 July 2019 – Present
Succession controversy While the Secretary of State, Luis G. Rivera Marín, would have been the successor to Rosselló Nevares, his involvement in the Telegramgate scandal forced his resignation earlier in July 2019. Rosselló Nevares attempted to name a successor in Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia by nominating him for the Secretary of State, but his confirmation was stalled in the 18th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, specifically, the Senate.
The situation led to confusion as Rosselló resigned without a confirmed Secretary of State, who at the same time swore in on his own ceremony, becoming de facto governor. After less than a week, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico decided in that the clear successor was the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico, annulled any recognition or vestiges of legitimacy in the week-long Pierluisi government.
Pierluisi vacated the Palace of Santa Catalina at noon of 7 August 2019, and Wanda Vázquez Garced was sworn that day at 5pm as the 13th Constitutional Governor of Puerto Rico. Her New Progressive Party (PNP) had majorities on both chambers of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico and she inherited several cabinet members from the previous government.
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