Puerto Rico’s newly installed governor and its Senate president faced off yesterday in written arguments submitted to the island’s supreme court, which will decide who is in charge of the bankrupt government, Reuters reported. Both sides agreed that Puerto Rico is facing its biggest constitutional crisis after days of protests forced Governor Ricardo Rosselló to leave office on Friday. Pedro Pierluisi, Rosselló’s handpicked successor, is fighting a constitutional challenge filed by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz over Pierluisi’s appointment as secretary of state, a position next in line to the governor. Pierluisi was sworn in as governor on Friday after the Puerto Rico House confirmed him as secretary of state, without confirmation from the Senate. On Sunday, Schatz filed a lawsuit claiming his chamber’s advice and consent duty under the island’s constitution was usurped and Pierluisi should be removed from office.
