Nobody's sure who will be the next governor of Puerto Rico

Ricardo Rossello
(Image credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Puerto Rico's governor is set to leave office hours from now, but it remains unclear who will replace him.

Ricardo Rosselló previously announced he would step down as governor on Aug. 2 at 5:00 p.m. after protesters demanded his resignation following a corruption scandal and the leak of crude private messages. Earlier this week, Rosselló chose as his successor Pedro Pierluisi, who he picked as secretary of state. This places him next in the line of succession.

But Pierluisi first needs to be approved as secretary of state by Puerto Rico's legislature in order to be placed in the line of succession, and this has yet to happen. A Senate hearing on his nomination on Thursday was delayed until Monday, Reuters reports, even though that's after Rosselló had announced he will step down. The president of Puerto Rico's Senate is himself vying for the governor job, reports The New York Times.

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Without Pierluisi in place as secretary of state, the next person in the line of succession is Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez, who has said she has "no interest in occupying the position of governor."

Puerto Rico's House of Representatives will vote on Pierluisi's nomination on Friday, and some lawmakers have argued this would effectively be enough for him to become governor, while others have said they'd sue were this to happen because he also needs to be approved by the Senate first, reports The Associated Press.

Even a spokesperson for Rosselló on Thursday wasn't sure what will happen when he leaves office, suggesting Vázquez will become governor but saying that she would need to double-check, reports CBS' David Begnaud. Regardless of whether Pierluisi or Vázquez takes over, both scenarios may result in lawsuits, reports the Times.

One senator, José Antonio Vargas Vidot, summed it all up by saying per the AP, "The situation could not be more complicated. This is absurd, what we're going through."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.