President Trump agreed to increase the coverage of a Puerto Rico disaster aid plan from 75 percent to 90 percent, according to a report Thursday evening.
Funding from the plan, which is backed by the federal government, will go towards rebuilding the island’s power grid and repairing infrastructure that was damaged during Hurricane Maria.
“We’re doing it in a way that grants flexibility, but also imposes a mutually agreed upon set of controls,” a White House official told Reuters.
Trump reportedly agreed to the plan with Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello. The plan allows third-party advisers to estimate the money required for the repairs — an effort set forth to safeguard taxpayer money. Puerto Rico was in the middle of a debt crisis when Maria struck the U.S. territory in September.
Weeks after the hurricane, only about 30 percent of Puerto Rico’s power grid has been restored.
Rossello has also been in talks with Tesla CEO Elon Musk about using Tesla’s batteries to rebuild the grid.
