U.S. Supreme Court upholds Puerto Rico financial oversight board appointments
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld appointments to Puerto Rico's federally created financial oversight board that had been challenged by creditors in a ruling that avoids disruption to the panel's restructuring of about $120 billion of the bankrupt U.S. territory's debt. The justices, in a 9-0 decision authored by Justice Stephen Breyer, concluded that the 2016 appointment of seven board members did not violate the U.S. Constitution's so-called appointments clause as the challengers had argued. The outcome hinged on the court's conclusion that the board has control primarily over local issues, meaning the appointments were valid under the Constitution's language regarding naming officials to certain government posts.