Government

Update: Finance Commissioner Nominee Takes on Role of Acting Governor; Questions Arise Over Authority

Last updated on Sept. 21, 2023 at 6:35 a.m. Government House announced Tuesday that Finance Commissioner Nominee Kevin McCurdy has assumed the role of acting governor while both Governor Albert Bryan and Lt. Governor Tregenza Roach are out of the U.S. Virgin Islands. This development has led to questions and debates over the legality and appropriateness of a Finance Commissioner Nominee serving as acting governor. The questions have further been fueled by existing laws on the succession of leadership in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mr. Bryan is scheduled to be out of the territory for two weeks. He is traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with senior White House officials and members of Congress on key federal policy priorities, including the rum cover-over extension, the reopening of the refinery on St. Croix, and the waiver of FEMA's 10 percent cost-share requirement for disaster recovery projects. In Chicago, Governor Bryan will speak at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference. He i...