Shaheen, Kaine, Welch Call on Secretary Rubio to Respect Free Elections in Brazil

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) sent a letter to Secretary Rubio calling on the Administration to recognize the outcome of Brazil's elections and asking the State Department to work with regional partners in the Western Hemisphere in the monitoring of electoral and judicial processes.

In the letter, the Senators express concern about the Trump Administration's recent actions towards Brazil, including the Administration's use of tariffs and targeted sanctions to attempt to shape the Brazilian Supreme Court's verdict in the case of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was on trial for attempting to incite a military coup to stay in power. The Senators also call on the Trump Administration not to do further damage to the bilateral relationship with America's critical trading partner, Brazil. Finally, the Senators underscore the Trump Administration's pattern of electoral interference across Latin America including the Trump Administration's actions ahead of the Argentine midterm elections and in Honduras and Colombia.

"Over the course of President Trump's second term, we have seen U.S. officials engage in a campaign of interference and destabilization in Brazil. This effort first escalated sharply during the summer of 2025, with the Administration deploying tariffs and targeted sanctions to attempt to shape the Brazilian Supreme Court's verdict in the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of attempting to foment a military coup to stay in power," wrote the Senators.

"The contrast with the United States' approach during Brazil's previous presidential election could not be clearer. Immediately following the announcement of the election results, the United States moved swiftly-in coordination with allies and partners-to recognize President Lula's victory, helping to deny legitimacy to efforts to contest or reverse the outcome," continued the Senators.

"Today, rather than helping defend Brazilian democracy, the United States is using diplomatic, economic and political pressure in ways that risk weakening the country's democratic institutions, undermining confidence in Brazil's electoral process, and inflicting further damage on our relationship with a strategic U.S. ally and trading partner," concluded the Senators.

Full text of the letter is available HERE and provided below.

Dear Secretary Rubio,

We are writing to express our concern regarding actions by the Administration's that threaten our strategic alliance with Brazil and undermine the Western Hemisphere's second-largest democracy ahead of its upcoming presidential election in October 2026.

Over the course of President Trump's second term, we have seen U.S. officials engage in a campaign of interference and destabilization in Brazil. This effort first escalated sharply during the summer of 2025, with the Administration deploying tariffs and targeted sanctions to attempt to shape the Brazilian Supreme Court's verdict in the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of attempting to foment a military coup to stay in power.

Despite some subsequent measure of deescalation in the months that followed, including direct and cordial talks between Presidents Trump and Lula, the campaign directed at Brazil's authorities resumed with the appointment of Darren Beattie as a senior advisor on Brazil issues in the State Department. Beattie, a noted far-right extremist and white supremacist, came into this post with a record of public statements signaling an overt ideological commitment to undermining Brazil's democratic institutions and advancing the interests of the Brazilian far-right. More recently, the Administration again targeted Brazilian imports with steep tariffs following a Section 301 investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative. The investigation was reportedly initiated at President Trump's direction at the same moment that he publicly criticized Brazilian court actions against former President Bolsonaro and U.S. social media companies.

The Administration's most recent actions point toward an apparent effort to interfere with, and potentially undermine, Brazil's general election in October. Senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro's recent Oval Office meeting with President Trump, undertaken while attempting to mitigate a domestic political scandal, underscores the Administration's willingness to insert itself in the election.

The contrast with the United States' approach during Brazil's previous presidential election could not be clearer. Immediately following the announcement of the election results in 2022, the United States moved swiftly-in coordination with allies and partners-to recognize President Lula's victory, helping to deny legitimacy to efforts to contest or reverse the outcome. Following the January 8, 2023, attacks on Brazil's democratic institutions, the United States stood firmly with Brazil's newly elected government and played a key role in rallying support across the region for Brazil's efforts to defend its hard-won 1988 constitution and the democratic institutions it established.

Today, rather than helping defend Brazilian democracy, the United States is using diplomatic, economic, and political pressure in ways that risk weakening the country's democratic institutions, undermining confidence in Brazil's electoral process, and inflicting further damage on our relationship with a strategic U.S. ally and trading partner. These actions reflect a broader and deeply troubling pattern of interference by the Trump Administration in recent electoral processes across Latin America, as seen during Argentina's midterm elections and the presidential elections in Honduras and Colombia. This pattern risks not only undermining the integrity of electoral processes in individual countries but also progressively eroding electorates' confidence in democratic processes and institutions across the region.

Given the Administration's actions, we request answers to the following questions:

• How does the Department coordinate its democracy and human rights objectives with regional partners in the Western Hemisphere, particularly regarding technical assistance or monitoring of electoral and judicial processes?
• Will the Administration commit to recognizing the certified outcome of Brazil's 2026 democratic elections and to supporting normal diplomatic relations with whichever candidate is freely and fairly chosen by the Brazilian people?

Thank you for your assistance. We look forward to your responses.

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