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State Department revokes visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the U.S.

The State Department has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, according to a senior department official, marking the latest escalation in a growing diplomatic dispute between Washington and Brasília.

The official said the visa for Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti would be reinstated immediately if Brazil grants diplomatic approval, known as agrément, for President Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Perez. Brazil has withheld approval for Perez, who currently serves as Republican speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and is a close ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, preventing him from taking up the post.

“They have not only delayed, but put out signals that they will probably delay until after their election there, which is a long time coming,” the official said, adding that the dispute comes “in the context of several other diplomatic disputes that have developed over the last year or so.” 

The official said Washington believes “the government of Brazil owes us a prompt and positive answer” on the ambassadorial request.

The Brazilian government condemned the State Department’s move in a statement, saying the “justifications offered for the decision are false.” Brazil also said the U.S. announced its pick for ambassador before submitting a request to Brazil, arguing “the name of a proposed ambassador should be made public only after consent has been granted.”

“Today’s decision is not an isolated incident. It forms part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, driven by ideological motives that are incompatible with a bilateral partnership that has always been guided by mutual respect,” Brazil’s statement read.

The visa dispute follows Brazil’s earlier decision in July to deny visas to two U.S. State Department officials, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the country’s upcoming October elections by questioning the integrity of its voting system. The State Department has rejected those allegations as baseless, saying the planned visit by officials from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor was part of a routine engagement.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is up for reelection, going against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The former president, an ally of Mr. Trump, is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for his role in an attempted coup following his loss in the 2022 election.

The ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Brazil also include the levying of 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil last month, with Washington citing what it called unfair trade practices, including its rules regulating U.S. tech platforms.

Lula condemned the tariffs, denying “the alleged unfair trade practices” and adding, “There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country. According to statistics from the U.S. government itself, the United States has accumulated a surplus of $424.5 billion in goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years.”  

Lula, prior to the tariffs going into effect, suggested the decision was political in nature and blamed the younger Bolsonaro, who had recently visited Washington.

Shortly after that May visit, the Trump administration moved to classify two Brazilian drug trafficking groups, Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital, as foreign terrorist organizations. Lula also harshly criticized that move, saying at a public event, “We will not accept being treated like children, we will not accept being treated as if we were a banana republic,” according to Reuters, accusing Rubio of saying “that our criminals are terrorists and that Americans can intervene.”

South Carolina to hold first 2028 Democratic presidential primary

▶ Watch Video: Democrats expected to approve South Carolina as first primary in 2028, but other states pushing back Democrats on Saturday approved a new presidential nominating calendar for 2028, cementing South Carolina's place as the first official Democratic primary state, as the party looks to elevate states that better reflect its diverse coalition of voters.The vote came during the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting in Austin, where members signed off on a schedule that begins with South Carolina on Jan. 22, followed by Nevada on Feb. 1. New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia round out the early-state lineup throughout February, all voting before Super Tuesday."This is much bigger than a lineup of dates on a calendar," said DNC Chair Ken Martin. "This is about our approach to winning back the presidency. It's about the kind of Democratic Party and the kind of country we aspire to be."The new calendar goes into effect amid a tug-of-war within the progressive and establishment wings of the party. It also continues a shift away from a tradition that for half a century gave states that are predominantly composed of White voters — Iowa and New Hampshire — outsized influence at the start of the nominating process. Strategists say the new calendar gives greater influence to Black and Latino voters, who make up key parts of the Democratic coalition. "If you're not strong with Latino voters or if you're not strong with Black voters, you know you can only get so far in this calendar," CBS News contributor and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said, adding that the schedule shows Black voters "the respect that they're due."Not everyone in the party is on board. Democratic leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire — previously the first and second states to hold primary contests, respectively — excoriated the new map as soon as the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee recommended it, arguing that it diminishes the role of states that have long taken on the responsibility of shaping the presidential nomination battlefield. "New Hampshire's First in the Nation primary is a tested proving ground in a closely contested swing state that forges better candidates and better presidents — and despite what DNC insiders say, that hasn't changed," New Hampshire's U.S. congressional delegation said in a statement. "As a state with highly engaged voters, we put candidates through their paces and thoroughly vet them. And our small size means that actually meeting and talking to voters takes precedence over super PACs or mega-donor-fueled campaigns."Iowa Democratic Chair Rita Hart said on Saturday the new calendar "fundamentally misses the mark," saying the job of the DNC calendar is to "ensure that the strongest possible nominee emerges" to become the Democratic candidate for president."It's a product of broken promises, and it excludes huge swaths of the country and the voters that Democrats need to win, the kind of majorities it takes to restore Democratic principles and reject this misguided and corrupt Trump administration," she said.Momentum for South Carolina's ascension in the calendar traces back to 2020, when a victory there shifted momentum in the presidential primary that year to Joe Biden after he performed poorly in Iowa, New Hampshire and, to a lesser extent, Nevada. Under pressure from Biden and his allies, the DNC moved South Carolina's primary to first for the 2024 calendar. That cycle, New Hampshire defied the DNC's revised schedule and held its primary before South Carolina, citing a state law that mandates it hold the first primary. In response, the party stripped the contest of its sanctioned status. DNC Chair Ken Martin has signaled that if New Hampshire jumps ahead again in 2028, punishment will be more severe. "This is a calendar this party is actually going to protect," Martin told reporters after the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee met last month to propose a new schedule. The new calendar could impact the ideological battle within the Democratic Party between establishment moderates and more progressive candidates, including far-left democratic socialists. With no obvious 2028 front-runner, the newly approved schedule gives South Carolina, Nevada and the other four early states disproportionate influence over which faction can build early momentum in the 2028 presidential primaries. Among the states granted early slots, only Nevada and New Mexico offer clear advantages to progressives. Michigan has shown openness this cycle to progressives, with the primary victory of Abdul El-Sayed in the Senate race, but historically has elected more moderate candidates. New Hampshire voters have over time shown an openness to outsiders, but they typically have a more independent streak rather than a steep ideological lean. Progressives face an uphill battle in South Carolina, which has fewer of the White voters with college degrees who tend to support further-left candidates, and Virginia, which has long favored more moderate candidates. The decision to elevate states with large Black and Hispanic populations also comes as Democrats fight to stop the GOP from gaining ground with those two groups in general elections. President Trump won 48% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, up 12 points from four years earlier, and he won 15% of Black voters, almost double his share in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. His share of non-Hispanic White voters remained stable, at 55%.
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