Ricardo Rosselló is scheduled to officially resign as Puerto Rico's governor at 5 p.m. ET on Friday. But with less than 12 hours to go, it's still unclear who his successor will be.
One possible option is former U.S. representative Pedro Pierluisi. Rosselló nominated Pierliuisi to be the next secretary of state earlier this week, which would make him the next in line to take over as governor.
Puerto Rico's last secretary of state resigned July 13 over the same offensive group chat scandal that led to Rosselló's ouster.
In order to be confirmed, Pierluisi needs approval from the territory's House and Senate. But during a legislative session on Thursday, the upper chamber delayed its confirmation vote until next week.
The leader of Puerto Rico's Senate and other lawmakers have criticized Pierluisi's nomination, since he works for a law firm that represents the federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico's finances.
The House is expected to vote on Pierluisi's confirmation on Friday. If he does not secure enough votes during that session, then Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez would automatically become governor when Rosselló steps down. That's because she's next in line in the order of succession.
Vázquez already said she doesn't want the job. But on Thursday she said she'd "assume the responsibility imposed by the Constitution and the law" if she needed to.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow.