He participated in the Constitutionalist Revolution, in the office of Governor Pedro de Toledo, along with Cassiano Ricardo and Menotti del Picchia. In 1934, with Antônio de Alcântara Machado, he joined the Technical Office of the São Paulo bench, destined to coordinate the data for the elaboration of the Federal Constitution. During the Estado Novo, he succeeded Cassiano Ricardo in the Press and Propaganda Department and, after the period of constitutional adaptation, he was chief of staff to Minister Honório Monteiro and, next, Minister of Labor of the Gaspar Dutra government. After the death of Getúlio Vargas, with the Café Filho government, he held the position of Minister of Education and Culture. He was national president of the Republican Party, succeeding Artur Bernardes.