WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House’s budget director says Puerto Rico shouldn’t expect a federal bailout of its debt — even after President Donald Trump spoke of the need to “wipe out” that red ink as part of the island’s recovery after Hurricane Maria.
Mick Mulvaney tells reporters that the administration plans to send Congress a disaster aid package that’ll include money for the U.S. territory.
But Mulvaney says: “We are not going to be offering a bailout for Puerto Rico or for its current bondholders.”
Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that federal officials would have to look at Puerto Rico’s debt structure and “we’re going to have to wipe that out.”
Before the hurricane, Puerto Rico’s government was negotiating with creditors to restructure a portion of its $73 billion in debt.
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