MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei focuses on his domestic agenda after the Adorni reshuffle, forgoing a US trip

Milei had already declined to attend the Mercosur summit in Asunción —where he was represented by Quirno— in order to remain in Buenos Aires and lead the swearing-in of his new cabinet chief

Argentine President Javier Milei will prioritize his domestic agenda in the coming days and will not travel to the United States for that country's Independence Day celebrations on July 4, official sources confirmed. The decision comes amid a reshaping of his cabinet following the departure of his cabinet chief, Manuel Adorni, and marks the second time in a matter of days that the president has set aside an international commitment to focus on domestic matters.

The possibility of traveling to New York was weighed within the government but never came to be officially confirmed. Official accounts differ on its status: while some Casa Rosada sources held that the invitation “existed” but that Milei's attendance was never ratified, others said the trip “was never on the agenda.” Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said that as of Wednesday no formal invitations had been received from the White House. Among the factors that complicated a possible visit, the sources cited the rescheduling of a gathering of business leaders and investors in Sun Valley and the absence of a confirmed bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Instead, Milei will lead the traditional vigil on July 8 at the Historic House in Tucumán, for the 210th anniversary of Argentina's Declaration of Independence, and the following day will take part in the Te Deum at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires. The president thus resumes a ceremony he was absent from last year. At the event he will coincide with Vice President Victoria Villarruel, invited by the provincial government, in a new joint public appearance by the two leaders.

The suspension of the trip fits into a week centered on the domestic front. On Monday, Milei had already declined to attend the Mercosur summit in Asunción —where he was represented by Quirno— in order to remain in Buenos Aires and lead the swearing-in of his new cabinet chief, Diego Santilli. This week, the president also led a meeting with La Libertad Avanza deputies and senators aimed at relaunching the governing bloc's parliamentary strategy and speeding up the handling of his reforms, among them a bill to amend the Central Bank's charter.

Despite the decision, the government stressed that the relationship with the Trump administration remains a priority of its foreign policy. Milei attended this week the reception for the 250th anniversary of US independence organized by the embassy in Buenos Aires, where Ambassador Peter Lamelas reaffirmed the intention to deepen bilateral ties. Quirno, for his part, could travel to the United States for the arrival of the frigate Libertad in New York, whose stopover will coincide with the July 4 festivities. In the immediate horizon, Milei plans to attend the inaugurations of Peru's president-elect, Keiko Fujimori, on July 28, and Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, on August 7.