Jenniffer González Colón | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2016 | |
| Governor of Puerto Rico | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Pierluisi |
| 20thResident Commissioner of Puerto Rico | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 2, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Pierluisi |
| Succeeded by | Pablo Hernández Rivera |
| Chair of thePuerto Rico Republican Party | |
| In office November 15, 2015 – May 7, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Carlos Méndez |
| Succeeded by | Ángel Cintrón |
| Minority Leader of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives | |
| In office January 12, 2013 – January 2, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Luis Raúl Torres |
| Succeeded by | Tatito Hernández |
| 29thSpeaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives | |
| In office January 2, 2009 – January 2, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | José Aponte Hernández |
| Succeeded by | Jaime Perelló |
| Member of thePuerto Rico House of Representatives from the at-large district | |
| In office January 2, 2005 – January 2, 2017 | |
| Member of thePuerto Rico House of Representatives from the4th district | |
| In office February 28, 2002 – January 2, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Edison Misla Aldarondo |
| Succeeded by | Liza Fernández Rodríguez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jenniffer Aydin González Colón (1976-08-05)August 5, 1976 (age 49) San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. |
| Political party | New Progressive |
| Other political affiliations | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | La Fortaleza |
| Education | |
| Website | Office website |
Jenniffer González Colón (born August 5, 1976) is a Puerto Rican politician who is serving as thegovernor of Puerto Rico since 2025. She previously served as the20thresident commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2025.[1] González Colón has also held leadership positions in theNew Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP) and theRepublican Party of the United States, including being chair of thePuerto Rico Republican Party,speaker andminority leader of theHouse of Representatives of Puerto Rico, and vice-chair of the PNP.[2][3][4][5] She is the second elected and third servingfemalegovernor, afterSila María Calderón andWanda Vázquez Garced, and she is also the first and only woman to be elected or serve as Resident Commissioner.[6]
González was born inSan Juan to the late Jorge González and Nydia Colón. She graduated from University Gardens High School and then received a bachelor's degree in political science from theUniversity of Puerto Rico'sRío Piedras campus. During these years she served as the executive director of the Young Republican Federation of Puerto Rico.
She obtained both aJuris Doctor and anLL.M. from theInteramerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law,[7] but she has yet to be admitted to thebar of any jurisdiction.[8][9]
González was first elected to the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico in aspecial election held on February 24, 2002, to fill the vacancy left by former House speakerEdison Misla Aldarondo, after his resignation as representative from San Juan's4th District. She was the first female elected representative of San Juan's Fourth District, the youngest member of the 14th Legislative Assembly, and the youngest woman ever to be elected to thePuerto Rico Legislative Assembly. Before being elected as representative, González served as chairwoman of the San JuanNew Progressive Party Youth Organization and was very active in the pro-statehood student movement while attending college.
González was re-elected in the2004 Puerto Rico general elections, this time as an at-large representative. She served as chairwoman of the House Government Affairs Committee and as ranking member of the Budget, San Juan Development, Women's Affairs, and Internal Affairs Committees, as well as the Joint Commission for the Revision of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico.
González was re-elected to another term in the2008 Puerto Rico general elections obtaining the most votes from her party, and the second most votes overall.[10] At the age of 32, she was elected House speaker by members of herNew Progressive Party delegation during a caucus held on November 7, 2008. González defeated incumbent House SpeakerJosé Aponte Hernández in his bid for re-election to that post, becoming the youngest person in Puerto Rican history to be elected Speaker of the House, and the third woman to hold that seat.
In November 2015, González was unanimously elected as chairwoman of theRepublican Party of Puerto Rico after being the party's vice-chair for eight years. She succeededAguadilla mayor Carlos Méndez in the position that once was held by former governor DonLuis A. Ferré, founder of the New Progressive Party, andJose Celso Barbosa the founder of both the Republican Party and the statehood movement in Puerto Rico.[11][12] During the 2020 Republican National Convention, she was unable to travel to the convention venue due to the fact that she was in self-quarantine after having tested positive to thenovel coronavirus or COVID-19. She delegated her role of delegation chair at the 2020 convention in Kevin Romero, who became the youngest delegation chair and roll call participant in 2020. In September 2023, Jennifer González announced that she would run in the 2024 primary for the Puerto Rico gubernatorial elections.
In2012, González was again re-elected, this time gathering the most votes overall, despite the fact that her party lost the majority of seats.[13] The same night of the election, she was selected to become minority leader of her party.[14]
On September 14, 2015, González announced her candidacy to succeedPedro Pierluisi asResident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Six days later, one of Pierluisi's rivals forthe gubernatorial nomination,Ricardo Rosselló, agreed with her to become running mates for the June 5, 2016, primary and the November 8, 2016, general election. During the ten months the primary race lasted, various public opinion polls consistently showed González to have over 70% approval ratings of the electorate, making her the most popular politician of any political party on the island.[citation needed]
On June 5, 2016, González won the NPP primary by a landslide margin of 70.54% of the vote[15] over her opponentCarlos Pesquera. She thus became the first woman in the history of theNew Progressive Party to be nominated to the Resident Commissioner seat in Congress.
On November 8, 2016, González was electedResident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, with 48.77% of the vote, over her main opponent, the lateHéctor Ferrer of thePopular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico,[16] becoming the first woman and youngest person to represent Puerto Rico in theU.S. Congress since the creation of theresident commissioner of Puerto Rico seat 116 years prior in 1900.
So far in her time in Congress, González has focused on sponsoring or cosponsoring bills related to veterans affairs, health relief and tax relief for Puerto Rico.[17][18] Congresswoman González is a member of the Republican Conference House Policy Committee. She is also a member of the House Committees onNatural Resources,Veterans’ Affairs, andSmall Business, vice chair of theSubcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs, member ofSubcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus.[19]
During her first two years in Congress, Rep. González Colón spent a great deal of time and effort on efforts related to hurricane recovery after HurricanesIrma andMaría. This included participating in multiple House and Senate trips to Puerto Rico and joining the president onAir Force One during his 2017 official visit to view the hurricanes' damage to Puerto Rico.
For the 116th Congress, González has served in theCommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural Resources.[20] Since 2019, she has continued focusing on disaster recovery issues. Her focus on disaster recovery for the island first began after hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, but continued through 2020, after an earthquake on January 7, 2020, struck and caused significant damage to the south and southeastern regions of Puerto Rico.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Progressive | Jenniffer González | 718,591 | 48.80 | |
| Popular Democratic | Héctor Ferrer | 695,073 | 47.21 | |
| Independence | Hugo Rodríguez | 39,704 | 2.70 | |
| Working People's Party of Puerto Rico | Mariana Nogales Molinelli | 19,033 | 1.29 | |
| Total votes | 1,472,401 | 100 | ||
| New Progressivehold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Progressive | Jenniffer González | 512,697 | 41.14 | |
| Popular Democratic | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá | 400,412 | 32.13 | |
| Citizens' Victory | Zayira Jordán Conde | 157,679 | 12.65 | |
| Project Dignity | Ada Norah Henriquez | 95,873 | 7.69 | |
| Independence | Luis Roberto Piñero | 78,503 | 6.30 | |
| Write-in | 928 | 0.07 | ||
| Total votes | 1,246,092 | 100 | ||
| New Progressivehold | ||||
González Colón announced she would run forGovernor of Puerto Rico and challenge incumbentPedro Pierluisi in2024. In anupset, she defeated him in the primary with 54.57% of the vote and became the first women to run as the PNP's candidate in a gubernatorial election.[32] On November 5, 2024, Jennifer Gonzalez won the office of Governor of Puerto Rico in the 2024 general election, with over 40% of the vote.[33]
On January 2, 2025, González Colón was sworn into office as Governor of Puerto Rico, the second woman to be elected to the position and the third woman to serve.
On July 17 2025, Gonzalez signed into law a bill barring hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries fortransgender youth.[34]
InThe Hill's articleThe Hill's Latina Leaders to Watch, Resident Commissioner González is described as apro-statehood,small government, pro-businessconservative.[35] In the first session of the115th United States Congress, González was ranked the 19th most bipartisan member of theHouse by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published byThe Lugar Center andGeorgetown'sMcCourt School of Public Policy to assesscongressional bipartisanship.[36]
In 2019, González was one of three House Republicans, along withBrian Fitzpatrick andJohn Katko, to co-sponsor theEquality Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.[37] Although González could not vote for final passage of the bill due toU.S. House rules, the legislation passed theUnited States House of Representatives during the116th Congress.[38]
After the2021 United States Capitol attack, the congresswoman condemned the violence and blamed President Donald Trump for inciting the riot.[39] However, the congresswoman still supported the majority of Republicans in their effort to removeLiz Cheney from her position as chair ofHouse Republican Conference.[40]
González said in a letter to U.S. PresidentDonald Trump thatNicolás Maduro "is an open threat to the United States, our national security and stability in the region".[41][42]
As governor, González created a task force to evaluate Puerto Rico’s energy policy and identify alternatives toLUMA Energy, the primary electricity provider on the island.[43] She appointed Josué Colón Ortiz as the Energy Czar and has said she wants to expand the use of liquefied natural gas, potentially revising renewable energy targets, while also backing policies that allow individual solar energy producers to sell excess power to the grid.[43]
In December 2024, she stated her intent to replace LUMA with a different private operator.[43] However, canceling the contract could lead to legal disputes, with estimated termination costs ranging from $300 million to $600 million.[44] Reverting the system to thePuerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), which is in the process of being dismantled, could also cause service disruptions and require a transition period. Finding another private operator may present challenges, as potential candidates could demand higher compensation, and few companies may be willing to take on the responsibility.[44]
González has been critical of LUMA, stating that requiring agencies to pursue legal action before proceeding with energy-related work “only delays these processes even further, does not provide electricity to any home or any industrial plant, and puts a risk to the funding.”[45]
In May 2025, Jennifer Gonzalez Colón supported an investment project to install battery-powered solar systems in clinics and public housing in Puerto Rico.[46]
On August 24, 2020, during theongoing global pandemic, González announced that she had tested positive forCOVID-19.[47]
In 2022, González announced she was dating then-medical student José Yovín Vargas, whom she had met the year before on holiday inLa Parguera, inLajas, Puerto Rico.[48] Vargas is originally fromAguadilla, Puerto Rico. The couple married on August 6, 2022, at the Parroquia Santa Teresita inSanturce, Puerto Rico. The ceremony was attended by many political figures like GovernorPedro Pierluisi, as well as former governorSila Calderón.[49][50] On February 16, 2024, González gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.[51]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives 2009–2013 | Succeeded by |
| House of Representatives of Puerto Rico | ||
| Preceded by | Minority Leader of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives 2013–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of thePuerto Rico House of Representatives from the4th district 2002–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of thePuerto Rico Republican Party 2015–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the Puerto Rico New Progressive Party 2024–present | Incumbent |
| New Progressive nominee forGovernor of Puerto Rico 2024 | Most recent | |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico 2017–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Puerto Rico 2025–present | Incumbent |
Political officials ofPuerto Rico | ||
|---|---|---|
| U.S. House |  | |
| Executive government |
| |
| Senate | ||
| House | ||
| Supreme Court (appointed) | ||
 | ||
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
