Brazilian congressional committee advances impeachment against President Rousseff

On Monday night, the impeachment committee of Brazil's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, voted to recommend impeaching President Dilma Rousseff on charges that she illegally bolstered state finances with a bank loan while running for re-election. Rousseff denies the charges. The 38-27 vote was slightly more lopsided than expected, and the full Chamber of Deputies is set to vote on Sunday on whether to send the case to the Senate for trial. Two thirds of the lower house, or 342 deputies, need to approve the impeachment measure for it to pass; currently, 298 delegates favor impeachment and 120 oppose it, according to the latest tally from Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paolo.

The setback for Rousseff was expected, in part because the lower house is tightly controlled by Rousseff's political nemesis, House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is third in line to the presidency — and also under investigation for allegedly accepting a $5 million bribe as part of the huge Petrobras scandal. If a simple majority of the Senate approves an impeachment trial, Rousseff will have to step down for up to 180 days during the trial and her vice president, Michel Temer — from an opposition party — will take over.

In a twist, Brazilian media played an audio clip on Monday of Temer practicing a speech to assume power should Rousseff step aside, a leak Temer's office calls accidental. A court also ruled earlier this month that if Rousseff is ousted by a two-thirds vote in the Senate, Temer has to face impeachment for the same charges that will have sunk Rousseff.

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