House confirms Rosa Cheli Rivera Santana as Puerto Rico secretary of state

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives confirmed Rosa Cheli Rivera Santana as secretary of state on June 30, 2025, voting 50-0 to give advice and consent to the governor’s nomination.

The confirmation followed a Committee on Government review and a public hearing held June 27 in which the nominee provided documents requested by the committee, including financial disclosures, tax returns for the last five years, and a sworn set of responses to committee questions, committee chair Víctor Paredes said during the floor presentation. The committee’s report recommending confirmation was approved unanimously by members present and then sent to the full House, which approved the nomination by voice and later by recorded vote.

Rivera Santana is the mayor of Gurabo. Lawmakers who spoke on the floor highlighted her municipal record, pointing to post‑Hurricane María recovery work, alleged improvements in fiscal stability in Gurabo and broad local electoral support. Ángel Peña Ramírez, identified on the floor as vice president of the committee, and other members said Rivera Santana met the committee’s documentation and testimonial requirements during the public hearing.

Several members of both the majority and minority caucuses noted the constitutional and administrative responsibilities of the secretary of state, including succession duties, international and intergovernmental representation, and oversight of registries and boards housed in the Department of State. Representative Charbel Chinea, among others, stressed that the role requires administrative and diplomatic capacities as well as the ability to manage boards and professional registries.

On the floor, Representative Bismary Peña Dávila and other members of the minority said they had met with Rivera Santana in a bipartisan setting and expected the nominee to attend to issues raised for their districts, including consumer and professional regulatory matters. Multiple speakers framed the confirmation as a step toward institutional stability after earlier vacancies in the post.

The House president, Johnny Méndez Núñez, called the vote and later directed that the secretary of the House notify the governor of the confirmation. The House recessed after the confirmation and later recorded the formal vote tally in the journal.

Rivera Santana’s confirmation completes the advice-and-consent step in both legislative chambers; the House notified the governor after the 50-0 approval.

Sources on the House floor said Rivera Santana supplied the committee with the standard documents committees require for cabinet-level confirmations, and the committee approved a written recommendation before the full‑chamber vote.