How Many Impeachment Requests Against Moraes Are Actually Pending
BRAZIL · SENATE
Key Facts
- —The newest filing Senator Alessandro Vieira filed an impeachment request against Justice Moraes on 5 September, with 20 signatures.
- —How many are pending Counts differ. One tally puts 55 against Moraes since January 2021, another at least 66.
- —The wider figure Senate President Davi Alcolumbre says 109 requests are pending against the ten justices.
- —What has moved Nothing. No admissibility ruling, no committee referral, no vote.
- —Why not Only the Senate president can advance one, and Alcolumbre has kept them parked.
- —The threshold Removal needs 54 of 81 senators. A newspaper headcount is not a whip count.
Impeachment requests against a Brazilian Supreme Court justice are easy to file and almost impossible to advance. The gap between those two facts is the whole story.
A new impeachment request against Justice Alexandre de Moraes was filed on 5 September. It joins a queue that has never moved.
The Request That Was Filed
Senator Alessandro Vieira of the MDB party filed it on 5 September 2026. Twenty senators signed.
It centres on Moraes, his wife Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the banker Daniel Vorcaro.
The signatories cross several parties. They include Leila Barros, Jorge Kajuru, Flávio Arns, Hamilton Mourão, Damares Alves, Tereza Cristina and Esperidião Amin.
Also signing were Carlos Viana, Mara Gabrilli, Carlos Portinho, Marcos Pontes, Zequinha Marinho and Wilder Morais.
Three Different Totals, All Real
The numbers in circulation do not contradict each other. They count different things.
One tally puts 55 requests against Moraes filed in the Senate since 4 January 2021. Another counts at least 66 over the years.
That second count breaks down usefully: 18 archived or rejected, 21 awaiting dispatch and 27 with the Senate’s legal advisers.
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre uses a broader figure. He has said 109 requests are pending against the ten justices, and called that abnormal.
By justice, one tally gives Moraes 55, Gilmar Mendes 15, Dias Toffoli 12 and Flávio Dino 8.
Why None of Them Moves
Brazilian law gives the Senate president sole control over whether an impeachment request against a justice proceeds.
He decides admissibility. Without that step there is no committee, no hearing and no floor vote.
Alcolumbre has not issued an admissibility ruling on any of them. The requests sit where they were filed.
Reports that he has signalled openness to pairing a case against Moraes with one against Justice André Mendonça carry no direct quote. They are second-hand.
The Headcount That Is Being Quoted
The newspaper Gazeta do Povo has been surveying senators since 2 September. Its tally as of 13 September was 40 in favour, 4 against, 24 declining to answer and 13 not responding.
Removal requires 54 of 81 senators, a two-thirds majority. On that survey, support falls well short.
The same paper reported that some senators have changed position. It named Chico Rodrigues, Leila Barros and Flávio Arns as moving to support.
No direct quotes were published for any of them. Barros and Arns did sign the 5 September request, which corroborates their position. Rodrigues did not.
Treat the survey as what it is. A newspaper asking senators a question is useful, and it is not a count of votes that have been cast.
What Would Have to Happen
First, the Senate president would have to accept a request as admissible. That is the step that has never occurred.
The request would then go to a committee, which would report to the floor. A two-thirds vote would be required to remove a justice.
No Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ever been removed by this route. The instrument exists and has never been completed.
Why This Is Live Now
The Supreme Court votes on Tuesday 15 September on whether police may investigate Moraes. That is a judicial process, not a legislative one.
The two tracks are separate and can run at once. A police inquiry does not require the Senate, and an impeachment does not require the court.
What links them is political weather. An authorisation on Tuesday would raise pressure on Alcolumbre to rule on admissibility.
What Is Not Known
Alcolumbre has not said what he intends to do, and has given no timetable.
The 18 bases of the different tallies are not reconciled anywhere, so the precise pending figure is unclear.
For a reader following this from abroad, the practical point is simple. The filing of a request is not a step toward removal until the Senate president says so.
More: Brazil news and analysis, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many impeachment requests target Moraes?
Counts range from 55 since January 2021 to at least 66 over the years, depending on the tally.
Who filed the newest one?
Senator Alessandro Vieira, on 5 September 2026, with twenty signatures.
Can the Senate remove a justice?
In principle yes, by a two-thirds vote of 54 of 81 senators. It has never happened.
Why has nothing happened?
Only the Senate president can rule a request admissible. Davi Alcolumbre has not done so.
What does the newspaper survey show?
40 senators in favour, 4 against and 37 not answering, well short of the 54 required.
Is this connected to the court vote?
Only politically. The 15 September plenary is a judicial process and does not involve the Senate.
Sources: Senado Notícias, Poder360, Congresso em Foco, Estado de Minas, Gazeta do Povo, Metrópoles.
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