The senator (PL-RN) presented a representation to the TCU on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) against the Presidency of the Republic and Secom (Secretariat of Social Communication) to determine whether there were irregularities in spending on institutional advertising by the federal government in an election year.
In the document, Marinho said there were signs of exceeding the legal limit for institutional advertising expenses and misuse of purpose. The senator cites article 73 of the , which establishes restrictions on advertising spending in election years. Read the representation (PDF – 3 MB).
The representation stated that commitments to institutional advertising in 2026 reached R$785.7 million by June 18. According to the calculation presented by Marinho, the legal ceiling would be R$618.1 million in the period. The difference would be R$167.6 million, equivalent to 27.1% above the limit.
The senator, who is from (PL) also stated that, in 2025, spending on social communications reached R$480.4 million. In representation, it says this is the highest value in the historical series, above periods such as the 2014 World Cup and the covid pandemic.
Marinho also mentions the campaign “Family Time”linked to the government’s proposal to end . According to the representation, the action would have cost around R$80 million, an amount equivalent to 11% of the total spent on social communication in 2026.
The senator said that the campaign defends a legislative proposal still under analysis in Congress. For him, the use of official advertising to promote the measure would violate the principles of impersonality, administrative morality and neutrality of institutional communication.
In the representation, Marinho asked the Federal Court of Auditors to carry out an emergency operational and financial audit at Secom. It also requests a precautionary measure to suspend the campaign and letters to the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) and Secom’s internal controls to verify advertising spending in 2026.
The senator also called for sanctions to be applied if irregularities are proven.
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