Brazil's presidential chief of staff Jose Dirceu agreed with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to step down and return to the lower house of Congress, a high-ranking government official was quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday. Dirceu, under pressure from allegations he was aware of a vote-buying scheme in Congress, agreed with Lula Monday night that he would confirm the decision to step down after lower house lawmaker Roberto Jefferson testifies before a congressional ethics committee about the bribery operation. Dirceu, one of Lula's most influential aides, would be the first cabinet member to step down as a result of the scandal. The source added that other top-level government aides will also quit when Dirceu returns to take his seat in the lower house, where he will be the government's representative on the floor. --More 2245 Local Time 1945 GMT
