Lin-Manuel Miranda petition urges government to aid Puerto Rico

Lin-Manuel Miranda launched an online petition Sunday calling on the government to assist residents in Puerto Rico still recovering from Hurricane Maria. 

The “Hamilton” star’s petition had more than 165,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon, with a goal of 175,000. 

The petition largely echoes points made in an op-ed Miranda wrote last week for The Washington Post, in which he criticized the response to the disaster in Puerto Rico, calling it “painfully slow and not commensurate with the hurricane response in Texas and Florida.” 

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Miranda specifically condemned the inclusion of an import tax in the Republican tax-reform bill that would treat Puerto Rico as a foreign territory. The tax would cost the island jobs, Miranda argued.

Miranda, whose parents are Puerto Rican, has been sharply critical of the Trump administration’s disaster response.

Last month, he headlined the Unity March for Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C. He said the core message of the rally was to let Trump know that “we still need your help.”

Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, which battered the island in September. 

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló on Monday ordered a recount of the death toll from the storm after The New York Times reported the actual number was likely much higher than the official tally.