Argentina Senate confirms Judge María Verónica Michelli amid Milei clash

The Argentine Senate approved the appointment of María Verónica Michelli to the Federal Oral Court No. 3 in La Plata with 44 votes in favor, 18 against and two abstentions. Her nomination was part of a batch of 74 judicial appointments processed in a chaotic session. President Javier Milei had sought to withdraw the candidacy because Michelli is the sister‑in‑law of journalist Hugo Alconada Mon, whose investigations involve the president’s administration. Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich abstained from the vote, defended the decision and said, “No se puede atribuir consecuencias disciplinarias a una persona por una cuestión familiar,” and offered her resignation to the president. The Senate’s vote was interpreted as a political setback for Milei and highlighted internal divisions within the ruling Libertad Avanza bloc and broader tensions between the executive and the legislature.