SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello resigned Friday as promised, clearing the way for veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi to be sworn in as his replacement, a move that threw the U.S. territory into a period of political uncertainty.
Rossello had promised to step down in response to weeks of popular protest over mismanagement and a series of leaked chats in which he and advisers denigrated a range of Puerto Ricans. Because of problems with the qualifications of members of Rossello's administration in the constitutional line of succession, it was unclear until the last minute who would become governor.
Pierluisi was named secretary of state, the next in line to be governor, in a recess appointment this week. In an emailed announcement from his office, Rossello said Pierluisi would succeed him. He was sworn in by a judge at 5 p.m. in Puerto Rico, the hour Rossello had set to leave office.
Four hours later, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz tweeted that the municipality at 8 a.m. Monday would be challenging Pierluisi's swearing in as governor.
The territory's House of Representatives confirmed Pierluisi as secretary of state Friday, but the Senate has not yet voted on his appointment. Rossello said confirmation by both houses was unnecessary for a recess appointment, an assertion that appeared likely to generate legal challenges.
Two hours after taking the oath, Pierluisi emerged at the governor's residence to address the press and said he would only promise to serve as governor until Wednesday, when the Senate has called a hearing on his nomination. If the Senate votes no, Pierluisi said, he will step down and hand the governorship to the justice secretary, the next in line under the constitution.
Nothing more was heard from Rossello.
The down-to-the-wire maneuvering risked political chaos and a constitutional crisis and 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.
"People are disgusted with the government in general, not just Ricardo Rossello, everyone," said Janeline Avila, 24, who recently received her degree in biotechnology.
Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, a member of Rossello's party seen as a possible future governor, criticized Rossello for naming Pierluisi and appeared to hint at fighting the succession plan.
"He never regretted anything," Rivera Schatz said of Rossello. "He did not respect the demands of the people. In fact, he mocked them, using new accomplices."
Rivera Schatz said that order and morals will prevail: "No one should lose faith."
Hundreds of protesters marched to the governor's residence, the Fortaleza, banging pots and drums and singing the national anthem. Protesters had not been highly critical of Pierluisi before Friday but expressed disgust with the succession process and Pierluisi's ties to the federal control board that has promoted cutbacks on the island.
Bryan Carhu Castro Vega, a 21-year-old university student, said he was disappointed.
"It's obvious that the constitutional setup that we have isn't working for the people," he said. "None of the options is one the people chose or want or deserve."
By late Friday, police warned protesters that they would fire tear gas if needed as some chanted, "Guilty of the crisis! Pierluisi! Pierluisi!"
SUCCESSOR DEBATED
According to some interpretations of Puerto Rico's constitution, both chambers of the Legislature needed to approve Pierluisi as secretary of state to put him in the line of succession. On Friday, the House narrowly gave him the green light, on a 26-21 vote, but the Senate has said it won't take up the issue until next week.
Given that, some argued that Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez -- second in line of succession -- should have taken the governor's spot.
In a statement late Friday, Rossello said the decision to hand power to Pierluisi was based on a 1952 amendment that establishes that "it is not necessary for the secretary of state to have been confirmed to assume the governor's seat permanently."
Constitutional law professor Carlos Ramos and other legal experts questioned the validity of that amendment and believed Pierluisi must be confirmed by the House and Senate because the amendment contradicts the intent of the constitution and its statement of motives.
Lawmakers and Pierluisi expressed concern that the continuing political uncertainty would damage Puerto Rico's efforts to get federal funds to recover from the hurricane and confront the economic crisis.
Pierluisi, 60, started off the day being grilled by a House committee. His prospects looked dark when House leader Carlos "Johnny" Mendez said he would vote against the appointee, saying there were "too many questions" to rush the vote.
In particular, Mendez said he and his colleagues had been under the impression that in his role as a lawyer, Pierluisi had tried to stop an investigation into a development project planned for the former Roosevelt Roads naval base.
Several legislators have also 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.
Pierluisi, whose brother-in-law is the board's chairman, tried to dispel those concerns in his opening remarks.
"Who better than me to advocate for our people before the board? Who better than me to facilitate the process that will force the board to leave? That is what we all want," he said.
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.
Pierluisi told lawmakers he is against several austerity measures demanded by the board, including laying off public employees and eliminating a Christmas bonus.
He said he supports public-private partnerships and the privatization of the island's public power company.
Rivera Schatz has said he would not vote for Rossello's nominee and wants to run for governor himself next year. Several legislators have said they prefer Rivera Schatz over Pierluisi.
Pierluisi was Puerto Rico's nonvoting representative in Congress from 2009 to 2017 and then ran against Rossello in the 2016 primaries and lost. He also served as justice secretary under Rossello's father, Pedro Rossello, when he was governor.
The political infighting and paralysis followed a wave of street protests against Rossello, who joins more than a dozen government officials who have resigned in the wake of an obscenity-riddled chat in which they made fun of women, gay people and hurricane victims.
Separately, President Donald Trump's administration is delaying the release of more than $8 billion in funds to help Puerto Rico prepare for the next natural disaster, citing the political unrest and financial irregularities in the U.S. territory.
The funds are part of $16 billion approved by Congress for mitigation projects, such as hardening electrical grids, in states and territories receiving presidential disaster declarations from 2015 to 2017.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is detailing rules for nine states to get the funds first. They are Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, California, Missouri and Georgia.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson said their recovery "should not be held back due to alleged corruption, fiscal irregularities and financial mismanagement occurring in Puerto Rico." The U.S. Virgin Islands would be grouped with Puerto Rico.
Information for this article was contributed by Danica Coto, Mariela Santos, Michael Weissenstein and staff members of The Associated Press; and by Jim Wyss of the Miami Herald.
A Section on 08/03/2019