Congress can use tax dollars to bail out Puerto Rico: Judge Napolitano
President Trump visited Puerto Rico on Tuesday following the destruction left in Hurricane Maria’s wake. In a Fox News interview, President Trump vowed to wipe out Puerto Rico’s debt.
“We have to look at their whole debt structure, you know they owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street and we are going to have to wipe that out… you can say goodbye to that. I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs but whoever it is—you can wave goodbye to that,” President Trump told Geraldo Rivera.
Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst, said this could be a signal Trump is looking to bail out Puerto Rico.
“To me that is stunning,” Judge Napolitano told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria. “When he says ‘wave goodbye to it’ he means that he plans to ask the Congress for a bailout.”
However, Judge Napolitano said bailing out the U.S. territory would be very difficult politically.
“It might not be the full $73 billion—they might ask the lender to take some kind of a haircut—That would be unprecedented. I don’t know that the Republicans would support it,” he said.
Judge Napolitano added that assuming Congress can get the votes needed, it would be perfectly legal to lend Puerto Rico the money.
“The Supreme Court has ruled Congress can spend tax dollars or money borrowed in the taxpayers’ name on anything—whether it’s articulated in the Constitution or not, including a bailout,” he said.