Jenniffer González Colón (born August 5, 1976) is a Puerto Rican politician who is currently serving as the
governor of Puerto Rico
The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...
González was born in San 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 the
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
's Río Piedras campus. During these years she served as the executive director of the Young Republican Federation of Puerto Rico.
She obtained both a
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
González was first elected to the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico in a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
held on February 24, 2002, to fill the vacancy left by former House speaker Edison Misla Aldarondo, after his resignation as representative from San Juan's 4th 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 the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly. Before being elected as representative, González served as chairwoman of the San Juan New Progressive Party Youth Organization and was very active in the pro-statehood student movement while attending college.
González was re-elected in the 2004 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.
Speaker of the House
González was re-elected to another term in the 2008 Puerto Rico general elections obtaining the most votes from her party, and the second most votes overall. At the age of 32, she was elected House speaker by members of her New Progressive Party delegation during a caucus held on November 7, 2008. González defeated incumbent House Speaker José 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.
Chairwoman of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico
In November 2015, González was unanimously elected as chairwoman of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico after being the party's vice-chair for eight years. She succeeded Aguadilla mayor Carlos Méndez in the position that once was held by former governor Don Luis A. Ferré, founder of the New Progressive Party, and Jose Celso Barbosa the founder of both the Republican Party and the statehood movement in Puerto Rico.
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 the novel 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.
House Minority Leader
In
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, González was again re-elected, this time gathering the most votes overall, despite the fact that her party lost the majority of seats. The same night of the election, she was selected to become minority leader of her party.
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
Elections
2016
On September 14, 2015, González announced her candidacy to succeed Pedro Pierluisi as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Six days later, one of Pierluisi's rivals for the 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.
On June 5, 2016, González won the NPP primary by a landslide margin of 70.54% of the vote over her opponent Carlos Pesquera. She thus became the first woman in the history of the New Progressive Party to be nominated to the Resident Commissioner seat in Congress.
On November 8, 2016, González was elected Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, with 48.77% of the vote, over her main opponent, the late Héctor Ferrer of the
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party (, PPD) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico, Pu ...
, becoming the first woman and youngest person to represent Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress since the creation of the resident 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. Congresswoman González is a member of the Republican Conference House Policy Committee. She is also a member of the House Committees on
Natural Resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
Small Business
Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...
, vice chair of the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs, member of Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus.
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 Hurricanes Irma and María. This included participating in multiple House and Senate trips to Puerto Rico and joining the president on
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...
during his 2017 official visit to view the hurricanes' damage to Puerto Rico.
For the 116th Congress, González has served in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural Resources. 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.
Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
The Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus (CWRC) is a large bi-partisan Congressional Member Organization in the U.S. House of Representatives formed to support the National Wildlife Refuge System
The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) i ...
Governor of Puerto Rico
The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
. In an upset, 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. 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.
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.
Political positions
In '' The Hill''s article ''The Hill's Latina Leaders to Watch'', Resident Commissioner González is described as a pro-statehood, small government, pro-business
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
. In the first session of the 115th United States Congress, González was ranked the 19th most bipartisan member of the
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown'sMcCourt School of Public Policy to assess congressional bipartisanship.
In 2019, González was one of three House Republicans, along with Brian Fitzpatrick and John Katko, to co-sponsor the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Although González could not vote for final passage of the bill due to U.S. House rules, the legislation passed the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
during the
116th Congress
The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representati ...
.
After the
2021 United States Capitol attack
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources:
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, the congresswoman condemned the violence and blamed President Donald Trump for inciting the riot. However, the congresswoman still supported the majority of Republicans in their effort to remove
Liz Cheney
Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (; born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and politician. She represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, and served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2019 to 2021. Cheney i ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
that Maduro "is an open threat to the United States, our national security and stability in the region".
Energy
As governor, González created a task force to evaluate Puerto Rico’s energy policy and identify alternatives to LUMA Energy, the primary electricity provider on the island. 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.
In December 2024, she stated her intent to replace LUMA with a different private operator. However, canceling the contract could lead to legal disputes, with estimated termination costs ranging from $300 million to $600 million. Reverting the system to the Puerto 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.
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.”
In May 2025, Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon supported an investment project to install battery-powered solar systems in clinics and public housing in Puerto Rico.
Personal life
On August 24, 2020, during the ongoing global pandemic, González announced that she had tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
In 2022, González announced she was dating then-medical student José Yovin Vargas, whom she had met the year before on holiday in La Parguera, in Lajas, Puerto Rico. Vargas is originally from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The couple married on August 6, 2022, at the Parroquia Santa Teresita in
Santurce, Puerto Rico
Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...
. The ceremony was attended by many political figures like Governor Pedro Pierluisi, as well as former governor Sila Calderón. On February 16, 2024, González gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...