After criticism, President Trump lifts Jones Act restrictions on shipping aid to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico

— -- President Trump has authorized that shipping restrictions be waived "immediately" for Puerto Rico, which was ravaged by Hurricane Maria last week, amid criticism that aid has been slow to get to the disaster area.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced the waiver of Jones Act, which is intended to expedite the delivery of needed relief supplies to Puerto Rico, in a tweet on Thursday morning.

The Jones Act is a century-old law that requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports be carried on U.S. owned-and-operated ships and has been central to the criticism around the pace of the response to the crisis in Puerto Rico.

President Trump said yesterday that the administration was "thinking about" waiving it.

"We're thinking about that, but we have a lot of shippers and a lot of people and a lot of people who work in the shipping industry that don't want the Jones Act lifted," he said.