Barroso’s retirement completes one month, and delay in Lula’s appointment of Supreme Court Justice is now the fourth longest of three terms

After one month of Luís Roberto Barroso’s retirement, the current process of choosing his successor is already the fourth longest of Lula’s three terms as President of Brazil. The wait reinforces the tendency of the former president in the current administration, where the two ministers chosen so far were the ones he took the longest time to indicate: Flávio Dino, in 58 days, and Cristiano Zanin, in 51. Following them, the only one still ahead of the current wait was Carmen Lúcia, chosen by Lula after 42 days in 2006. The other seven ministers the president appointed to the Court needed less than 20 days until the nomination. Despite the close vote in the Senate for the reappointment of Attorney General Paulo Gonet, raising concern among government members, Lula’s aides say that Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias, remains the favorite for the SCOTUS vacancy. The President is expected to address the matter again this week before heading to South Africa, where he will attend the Brics summit on the 22nd and 23rd. Before announcing the nomination, Lula wants to meet with former Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) and Court of Audit Minister Bruno Dantas. Both are also rumored for the position. Once appointed by the President, the Supreme Court Justice candidate still needs to be questioned by the Senate. This is the moment when senators ask questions related to the duties of the position or the candidate’s opinion on sensitive issues. The only three times the Senate rejected names were in 1894, during the First Republic, under the government of Floriano Peixoto.