'Puerto Rico has been through too much already. We should forgive their debt, make them a state and rebuild in earnest,' presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted.
"I'll fight to ensure they receive the disaster assistance they need and deserve to recover from these earthquakes," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tweeted.
Other Democrats in Congress demanded the release of $8.3 billion in disaster recovery money in a letter sent to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Congress approved the money in response to the destruction by hurricanes Maria and Irma, which sideswiped the island 16 days before Maria hit.
Meanwhile, some Republicans in Congress urged Trump to approve Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez's request for a disaster declaration following the earthquake. Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida — a state with a significant Puerto Rican population — as well as Puerto Rico's nonvoting congressional delegate, Jenniffer González-Colón, urged Trump to instruct federal agencies to provide necessary support.
She said the latest disaster left Puerto Ricans feeling that just as they were starting to breathe,"here we go again."
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