| Cabinet Name: | Government of Ricardo Rosselló Nevares |
| Cabinet Number: | 18th |
| Cabinet Type: | Constitutional Government |
| Jurisdiction: | Puerto Rico |
| Flag: | Flag of Puerto Rico.svg |
| Flag Border: | True |
| Incumbent: | 2017-2019 |
| Date Formed: | 2 January 2017 |
| Date Dissolved: | 7 August 2019 |
| Government Head: | Ricardo Rosselló Nevares |
| Government Head Title: | Governor |
| Deputy Government Head: | Luis G. Rivera Marín (2017-2019) Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia (2019) |
| Deputy Government Head Title: | Secretary of State |
| State Head: | Barack H. Obama Donald J. Trump |
| State Head Title: | President of the United States of America |
| Total Number: | 16 Secretaries 23 Cabinet Members |
| Political Party: | PNP Ind. |
| Legislature Status: | Majority party in both chambers Senate House of Representatives |
| Opposition Party: | PPD (largest) PIP MVC Ind. |
| Opposition Leader: | Héctor J. Ferrer Ríos (2017-2018) Aníbal José Torres(2018-2020) |
| Election: | 2016 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election 2016 Puerto Rico Senate election 2016 Puerto Rico House of Representatives election |
| Last Election: | 2020 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election |
| Legislature Term: | 18th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico |
| Budget: | 2017 Puerto Rico Budget 2018 Puerto Rico Budget 2019 Puerto Rico Budget |
| Advice And Consent1: | Senate of Puerto Rico |
| Incoming Formation: | 2016 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election |
| Outgoing Formation: | Resignation of Ricardo Rosselló Nevares and several cabinet members as a result of Telegramgate. |
| Previous: | Government of Alejandro García Padilla |
| Successor: | Government of Wanda Vázquez Garced |
The government of Ricardo Rosselló Nevares was formed in the weeks following the 2016 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election[1] 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.[2]
Party breakdown of cabinet members, not including the governor:
20 | ||
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).
The Puerto Rican Cabinet is led by the Governor, along with, starting in 1986.,[3] [4] the Secretary of Governance. The Cabinet is composed of all members of the Constitutional Council of Secretaries (IV. Puerto Rico. 1952.), 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[5] [6]
| Office | Name | Party | Term | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | ||||||||
| Governor of Puerto Rico | PNP | 2 January 2017 – 2 August 2019 | ||||||
| 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[7] | PNP | 31 July 2018 – 29 January 2019 | ||||||
| Ricardo J. Llerandi Cruz[8] | PNP | 30 January 2019 – 2 August 2019 | ||||||
| President of the Puerto Rico Planning Board | María del Carmen Gordillo Pérez[9] | PNP | 2 January 2017 – 2 January 2021 | |||||
| Executive Director for Federal Affairs | Carlos R. Mercader Pérez[10] | 2 January 2017 – 30 April 2019 | ||||||
| Jennifer Storipan [11] | 1 August 2019 – 15 January 2021 | |||||||
Council of Secretaries | ||||||||
| Secretary of State | PNP | 2 January 2017- 16 July 2019 | ||||||
| PNP | 31 July 2019 - 2 August 2019 | |||||||
| Secretary of Justice | PNP | 2 January 2017 – 7 August 2020 | ||||||
| Secretary of the Treasury | Raúl Maldonado Gautier[12] [13] | 2 January 2017 – 31 July 2018 | ||||||
| Teresa «Teresita» Fuentes Marimón[14] | PNP | 31 July 2018 - 27 January 2019 | ||||||
| Raúl Maldonado Gautier[15] | PNP | 29 January 2019 - 24 June 2019 | ||||||
| Francisco Parés Alicea[16] [17] | 24 June 2019 – Present | |||||||
| Secretary of Education | Julia Beatrice Keleher[18] | 2 January 2017 - 1 April 2019 | ||||||
| Eligio Hernández Perez[19] [20] | 8 April 2019 – 31 December 2020[21] | |||||||
| Secretary of Labor and Human Resources | 2 January 2017 - 8 May 2019 | |||||||
| Briseida Torres Reyes[22] | 8 May 2019 – 9 June 2020 | |||||||
| Secretary of Transportation and Public Works | Carlos Contreras Aponte[23] [24] | 2 January 2017 - 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce | Manuel Laboy Rivera[25] | 2 January 2017 – 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Health | 2 January 2017 – 13 March 2020 | |||||||
| Secretary of Agriculture | Carlos Alberto Flores Ortega[26] | 2 January 2017 – 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | Michael Pierluisi Rojo[27] | 2 January 2017 – 7 June 2019 | ||||||
| Carmen Salgado Rodríguez[28] [29] | 9 June 2019 – 1 January 2021 | |||||||
| Secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Erik Rolón Suárez[30] | 2 January 2017 –14 September 2019 | ||||||
| Secretary of Family Affairs | Glorimar Andújar Matos[31] [32] | 2 January 2017 – 19 January 2020 | ||||||
| Secretary of Housing | Fernando Gil Enseñat | 2 January 2017 – 19 January 2020 | ||||||
| Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources | Tania Vázquez Rivera[33] | 2 January 2017 – 7 November 2019 [34] | ||||||
| Commissioner of Safety and Public Protection | Héctor Pesquera[35] | 9 April 2012 - 10 April 2017 | ||||||
| Secretary of Public Safety | Héctor Pesquera[36] | 10 April 2017 - 2 April 2019 | ||||||
| Elmer Román[37] | 2 April 2019-December 2019 | |||||||
| Secretary of Sports and Recreation | Andrés Waldemar Volmar Méndez[38] | 2 January 2017 – 12 January 2018 | ||||||
| Adriana Sánchez Parés[39] | 15 January 2018 – 1 January 2021 | |||||||
Other Cabinet-level officers | ||||||||
| Inspector General | Ivelisse Torres Rivera[40] | 16 January 2019 – Present | ||||||
| President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank | Christian Sobrino Vega[41] | 2 January 2017 – 13 July 2019 | ||||||
| Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority | Gerardo José Portela Franco[42] | 2 January 2017 – 31 July 2018 | ||||||
| 1 August 2018 – 13 July 2019 | ||||||||
| Omar J. Marrero Díaz[43] | 31 July 2019 – Present | |||||||
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 Senado de Puerto Rico v. Gobierno de Puerto Rico . 2019 TSPR 138 . CT-2019-4 . Supreme Court of Puerto Rico . 2019 . https://dts.poderjudicial.pr/ts/2019/2019tspr138.pdf . none . 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.[2]
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.