Deputies talk about creating “connections” with US congressmen “in defense of freedom of expression”; You can request a refund within 90 days
Brazilian deputies who attended the inauguration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump (Republican Party), this Monday (20 January 2025) claim that the travel expenses were paid with their own resources.
The federal deputy (PL-DF) said on social media that the expenses did not include “a public penny”. He said that the visit of around 30 congressmen from Brazil had the objective of creating “connections with American parliamentary peers” in favor of “defense of freedom of expression and fight against censorship”.
The information was confirmed by other deputies to the Poder360. (PL-SP), (Novo-RS) and (Podemos-RS) said they attended the event as civilians, with no burden on public coffers.
The agenda included a meeting with Trump allies, a rally and a gala ball. The tour was organized by federal deputy Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO), but the congressman from Goiás ended up not going to the United States.
The delegation expected to attend the inauguration at the Capitol, but had to attend the ceremony after the event was moved to a location with limited space for officials, businesspeople and members of Trump’s team.
Even stating that the trip is being paid for with their own resources, congressmen can request reimbursement for expenses within 90 days after the trip through 2 mechanisms: official mission or parliamentary quota.
- parliamentary quota: each federal deputy has a monthly amount to spend on activities related to the mandate. This includes food and travel expenses, for example. The amount varies by state, considering the cost of air tickets from Brasília to the capital of each member of the federation. Deputies have up to 90 days to request reimbursement for any expenses; and
- official mission: deputies can request recognition to travel, attend certain events and represent the Lower House. To do this, they need authorization. For this modality in the USA, the ceiling is US$428 per day of travel (including transportation, food and accommodation).
This digital newspaper asked the Chamber of Deputies if there is an official mission to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in the USA, what the costs of this to public coffers and the names of the members. Until the publication of this report, there was no response regarding the request.
