President Joe Biden on Monday announced he will direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to defend the move to exclude Puerto Rico residents from getting Social Security Income benefits if they are elderly, disabled, or blind as well as low-income, adhering to the same policy his predecessor former President Donald Trump. In a statement, the president said the agency will defend the constitutionality of federal law in a challenge against a provision in the Social Security Act that excludes Puerto Rico, an unincorporated commonwealth under U.S. jurisdiction. Biden added that he opposes the Supplemental Security Income provision in question but says the DOJ has the duty to defend the policy in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. “This provision is inconsistent with my Administration’s policies and values,” Biden stated. “However, the Department of Justice has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of federal statutes, regardless of policy preferences. This practice is …