Just days before he is set to leave office, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has selected Pedro Pierluisi as the island's new secretary of state, the El Nuevo Dia newspaper reports.
Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, and Pierluisi, a lawyer, is the former representative in Congress. Under Puerto Rico's rules of succession, the secretary of state is next in line to become governor. Rosselló announced earlier this month that he planned on resigning, effective August 2, following outrage over leaked group chats between Rosselló and several of his top aides and advisers. The messages included sexist and homophobic remarks, as well as jokes about Hurricane Maria victims.
The secretary of state role had to be filled quickly, as the last person to hold the office, Luis Rivera Marin, resigned on July 13 due to his part in the group chat scandal. The third person in the line of succession, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez Garced, told Rosselló this week she didn't want to become governor, which put the search for a secretary of state replacement in overdrive.
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