Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón will travel to Washington, D.C. This week for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA), according to a statement released Tuesday. The trip precedes a planned summit in March focused on Puerto Rico’s potential statehood.
González Colón’s participation in the NGA meeting comes as the organization navigates internal disagreements, though the specific nature of the controversies was not detailed in the statement. The Governor’s office indicated that the NGA meeting is a key component of ongoing efforts to advocate for the island’s interests at the federal level.
The Governor’s trip follows a visit to Washington in January 2025 for the inauguration of President Donald Trump, during which she also held meetings with members of Congress and presidential nominees, according to local news reports. At that time, Puerto Rico Secretary of State Verónica Ferraiuoli Hornedo served as acting governor during González Colón’s absence.
González Colón was elected Governor in November 2024, after serving as Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner to the U.S. Congress. As Resident Commissioner, she prioritized securing equal federal funding and services for Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million U.S. Citizens and advocated for a plebiscite on statehood, a position she has maintained throughout her political career. She has previously highlighted over $117 billion in appropriations secured for the island following the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The upcoming summit in March, dedicated to the issue of statehood, signals a continued push for Puerto Rico’s admission as the 51st state. González Colón has consistently pointed to the results of locally-held plebiscites in 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024 as evidence of the island’s desire for statehood.
Following a Republican Governors Association dinner in Washington D.C. On February 20, 2025, González Colón expressed her commitment to working with President Trump and fellow governors on behalf of Puerto Rico and the nation, according to a post on her official Facebook page.