| Cabinet Name: | Government of Wanda Vázquez Garced |
| Cabinet Number: | 19th |
| Cabinet Type: | Constitutional Government |
| Jurisdiction: | Puerto Rico |
| Flag: | Flag of Puerto Rico.svg |
| Flag Border: | true |
| Incumbent: | 2019–2021 |
| Date Formed: | 7 August 2019 |
| Date Dissolved: | 2 January 2021 |
| Government Head: | Wanda Vázquez Garced |
| Government Head Title: | Governor |
| Deputy Government Head: | María A. Marcano de León (acting, 2019) Elmer Román (2019–2020) Raúl Márquez Hernández (2020–2021) |
| Deputy Government Head Title: | Secretary of State |
| State Head: | Donald J. Trump |
| State Head Title: | President of the United States of America |
| Total Number: | 16 Secretaries 21 Cabinet Members |
| Political Party: | PNP Ind. |
| Legislature Status: | Majority party in both chambers Senate House of Representatives |
| Opposition Party: | PPD (largest) MVC PIP Ind. |
| Opposition Leader: | Aníbal José Torres (2018–2020) Carlos Delgado Altieri (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: | 2020–2021 Puerto Rico budget |
| Advice And Consent1: | Senate of Puerto Rico |
| Advice And Consent2: | House of Representatives of Puerto Rico |
| Incoming Formation: | Resignation of Ricardo Rosselló Nevares as a result of Telegramgate on 31 July 2019 |
| Previous: | Government of Ricardo Rosselló Nevares |
| Successor: | Government of Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia |
The government of Wanda Vázquez Garced was formed the week following the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares as a result of the massive protests resulting from the Telegramgate scandal, and a Supreme Court decision that vacated the office from an invalid occupant.[1]
While the Secretary of State, Luis G. Rivera Marín, would have been the successor, his involvement in the 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.
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 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.[1]
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.
Party breakdown of cabinet members, not including the governor:
19 | ||
2 |
The cabinet was composed of members of the PNP and two 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.,[2] [3] 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[4] [5]
| Office | Name | Party | Term | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | ||||||||
| Governor of Puerto Rico | Wanda Vázquez Garced[6] | PNP | 7 August 2019 – 2 January 2021 | |||||
Office of the Governor | ||||||||
| Secretariat of Governance | Zoé Laboy Alvarado[7] | PNP | 21 August 2019 – 31 December 2019 | |||||
| Antonio Luis Pabón Batlle[8] | PNP | 31 December 2019 – 2 January 2021 | ||||||
| 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 | Jennifer Storipan [10] | 1 August 2019 – 15 January 2021 | ||||||
Council of Secretaries | ||||||||
| Secretary of State | María Marcano de León (acting) [11] | PNP | 4 August 2019- December 2019 | |||||
| Elmer Román[12] | PNP | 20 December 2019 – 23 August 2020 | ||||||
| Raúl Márquez Hernández | PNP | 30 August 2020 – 2 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Justice | Dennise Longo Quiñones[13] | PNP | 18 August 2019 – 7 July 2020 | |||||
| Inés del Carmen Carrau Martínez[14] (acting) | PNP | 7 July 2020 – 2 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of the Treasury | Francisco Parés Alicea[15] [16] | 24 June 2019 – Present | ||||||
| Secretary of Education | Eligio Hernández Perez[17] [18] | 8 April 2019 – 31 December 2020[19] | ||||||
| Secretary of Labor and Human Resources | Briseida Torres Reyes[20] | 8 May 2019 – 9 June 2020 | ||||||
| Carlos Rivera Santiago[21] [22] | 9 June 2020 – 31 December 2021[23] | |||||||
| Secretary of Transportation and Public Works | Carlos Contreras Aponte[24] [25] | 2 January 2017 - 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce | Manuel Laboy Rivera[26] | 9 January 2017 – 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Health | 2 January 2017 – 13 March 2020 | |||||||
| Concepción Quiñones de Longo[27] (acting) | 13 March 2020 – 26 March 2020 | |||||||
| Lorenzo González Feliciano[28] | 26 March 2020 – 2 January 2021 | |||||||
| Secretary of Agriculture | Carlos Alberto Flores Ortega[29] | 2 January 2017 – 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | Carmen Salgado Rodríguez[30] [31] | 9 June 2019 – 1 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Eduardo Rivera Juanatey[32] | 14 September 2019 – 2 January 2021 | ||||||
| Secretary of Family Affairs | Glorimar Andújar Matos[33] [34] | 9 January 2017 – 19 January 2020 | ||||||
| Orlando López Belmonte[35] [36] | 14 May 2020 – 1 January 2021 | |||||||
| Secretary of Housing | Fernando Gil Enseñat | 9 January 2017 – 19 January 2020 | ||||||
| Luis Carlos Fernández Trinchet[37] | 28 January 2020 – 1 January 2021 | |||||||
| Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources | Tania Vázquez Rivera[38] | 2 January 2017 – 7 November 2019 [39] | ||||||
| Rafael Machargo Maldonado[40] [41] | 7 February 2020 – 31 March 2022[42] | |||||||
| Secretary of Public Safety | Elmer Román[43] | 2 April 2019-December 2019 | ||||||
| Pedro Janer Román[44] [45] | December 2019-1 January 2021 | |||||||
| Secretary of Sports and Recreation | Adriana Sánchez Parés[46] | 15 January 2018 – 1 January 2021 | ||||||
Other Cabinet-level officers | ||||||||
| Inspector General | Ivelisse Torres Rivera[47] | 16 January 2019 – Present | ||||||
| Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority | Omar J. Marrero Díaz[48] | 31 July 2019 – Present | ||||||