MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Senate gives thumbs down to Milei's Supreme Court nominees

García-Mansilla must now decide whether to stay until Nov. 30 or pack up

Argentina's Upper House Thursday gave its thumbs down to the two candidates President Javier Milei had nominated to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court (CSJN). While Manuel García-Mansilla has already been sworn in for the duration of the current Legislature as per a presidential decree, Ariel Lijo chose not to follow suit because he was not granted unpaid leave as the magistrate in charge of the Buenos Aires City Federal Court # 4.

García-Mansilla received 51 votes against, 20 in favor, and zero abstentions, while Lijo received 43 votes against, 27 in favor, and one abstention. This decision marked a significant political setback for Milei’s administration, the most notable since the rejection of a decree allocating US$ 100 million to intelligence services.

The rejection was supported by a broad coalition, including the Peronist bloc, the UCR (Radical Civic Union), and even some PRO (Republican Proposal) aligned with former President Mauricio Macri.

PRO Senator Guadalupe Tagliaferri from the City of Buenos Aires argued that the nominations violated constitutional norms and lacked gender representation, but her Córdoba colleague Carmen Álvarez-Rivero supported García-Mansilla and not Lijo.

“It is inadmissible for me to accompany a Court without women and to support two candidates who bypassed the Constitution,” Tagliaferri argued.

“Yes to García Mansilla because he positively represents everything we need; he defends the values that we need to put back on the table, such as the defense of life from conception to natural death.” But Lijo “does not deserve an ounce of my confidence in anything,” Álvarez Rivero stressed.

The government condemned the Senate’s decision, calling it a politically motivated attack on judicial independence and accusing legislators of prioritizing personal interests over institutional stability.

This debate also saw the resignation of Senate Administrative Secretary María Laura Izzo and the failure of a motion to discuss the “Clean Record” bill requiring candidates not to have a criminal dossier, reflecting broader tensions.

Milei’s administration vowed to continue efforts to ensure judicial independence, framing the Senate as an obstacle to national progress and accusing it of protecting the “political caste.”

Given Thursday's outcome, García-Mansilla said he would ask the other CSJN Justices to decide whether he could stay on the Court for the duration of his term as per the presidential decree or pack up, while a lower court already ruled he should excuse himself from voting in any plenary decision. Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni said it would be up to García-Mansilla himself to decide on his future.