Senate President Davi Alcolumbre on Monday (Aug. 31) nominated Senator Rodrigo Pacheco, a former Senate president, to the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), the federal court that audits Brazil's public spending. The seat opened with the early exit of minister Bruno Dantas, who formalized his departure in a letter to the court's president, Vital do Rêgo Filho.
In a statement and a video released Monday, Dantas said he is stepping down to pursue "new projects". News site G1 reported that he said he ends his term at the court convinced that "rotation in the country's high offices is a virtue". The seat belongs to the Senate's appointment quota. As at the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), Brazil's top court, a TCU minister serves until mandatory retirement at age 75, unless he steps down earlier.
The nomination was signed by Alcolumbre and 19 senators, among them the government's Senate leader, Teresa Leitão, and the opposition leader, Rogério Marinho. Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that Alcolumbre asked party leaders to co-sign the act, to show publicly that the choice was collective. Earlier in the month, Eduardo Braga, leader of the MDB in the Senate, told the paper that Dantas' seat belonged to his party and that his caucus would only give it up in favor of Pacheco. Three Senate leaders consulted by Folha expect one of the largest vote totals in the chamber's history.
Otto Alencar, who chairs the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee, praised the nominee to Folha:
"Pacheco was one of the greatest and best presidents of the Senate and of Congress that I have served with. A democrat who showed his courage and strength in the 2022 elections, when he defended the integrity of the electronic voting system, and when he took a strong stand against the antidemocratic acts of January 8, 2023."
The nomination follows a rift between Alcolumbre and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Alcolumbre had pushed Pacheco for the STF seat left by the retirement of Justice Luís Roberto Barroso. Lula instead nominated then Attorney General Jorge Messias, whom the Senate rejected. According to G1, Lula then distanced himself from Alcolumbre, believing the Senate president had worked to sink the confirmation. The two resumed talks in August, as the government seeks congressional support in an election year for priorities such as constitutional amendments to end the 6x1 schedule (six days of work followed by a single day off) and to tighten public security.
What comes next
Folha reported that Alcolumbre intends to put the nomination to a Senate floor vote on Tuesday (Sept. 1); if the quorum is too low, by Wednesday (2) at the latest. G1 reported that the nomination was expected to go through the Economic Affairs Committee, with a confirmation hearing, but Folha said Alcolumbre called Alencar to say he wants a direct floor vote, without a hearing, which will happen. The Senate's internal rules allow skipping the hearing for the chamber's own nominees; the last one was held in 2021, when three senators competed for the seat and Pacheco, then Senate president, ordered it, with Antonio Anastasia beating Kátia Abreu and Fernando Bezerra. After the Senate, the nominee still needs approval in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house. Once both chambers approve, the president formally appoints the new minister.