The name of the AGU minister may be resubmitted by Lula only if the PT member wins a 4th term and the nomination is made in the new legislative session, starting February 1, 2027
The Internal Regulations of the Senate prevent the name of the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, from being analyzed again in 2026 after his nomination by the plenary for a vacancy on the Federal Supreme Court. The internal rule bars the consideration, in the same legislative session, of an indication of authority already rejected by the House. The legislative session corresponds to the working year of Congress. It is different from the legislature, which is the 4-year term of congressmen.
In practice, the president (PT) would have to win the 2026 election and re-present the name of Messiah from February 1, 2027, when the new Legislative year begins. The rule is contained in Bureau Act No. 1 of 2010, which regulates provisions of the Internal Regulations of the Federal Senate. Here is it (PDF – 126 kB).
Article 5 of the act says: “The consideration, in the same legislative session, of an indication of authority rejected by the Federal Senate is prohibited.”
Messias had his nomination rejected by the Senate after receiving 34 votes in favor. Lula intends to insist on the name of the AGU minister, but would not be able to submit the nomination again to the plenary in this legislative session.
Lula has said in conversations that the defeat suffered by Messias did not represent a technical or personal setback for the minister, but rather a movement articulated by the president of the Senate, (União Brasil-AP), to confront the government.
Just like Lula, Jorge Messias wants to reverse the defeat he had when his name did not pass through the Senate. For now, he will continue to organize his return and hope that Lula will win a 4th term. He thinks that this way his name would be unbeatable in a new analysis in the Senate.
In the Judiciary and the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), the assessment is that Messias meets the prerequisites to occupy a seat in the Supreme Court and that the Senate went beyond that by denying the nomination. If, on the one hand, there is a critical perspective regarding the government’s lack of articulation, on the other, they believe that the nominee should have been approved.
The position at the STF has been open since October 2025, with . With the regulatory restriction, the Court tends to remain with an empty chair until Lula decides whether to present another name or whether to wait for the next legislative session to try again with Messias.
