The Government says that the opposition “cannot do anything” to block the arrival of Lijo and García Mansilla in the Court

Far from showing doubts and concern about the reaction of the majority of the opposition and the judicial challenges, the Casa Rosada reinforced the arguments that Javier Milei appealed to in order to move forward with the appointments by decree of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla in the Supreme Court of Justice and were optimistic that at the end of the road “they will have the agreement of the Senate.” “They cannot do anything to block them,” said those close to the president to Clarín.

The government is confident that the decision to appoint them on commission was made in a context in which all political avenues had been exhausted and that the decree included the legal and political support necessary to overcome any attack from Congress and the judiciary.

In this regard, they explained that, as a sign of confidence, it was decided to invite both jurists to the opening of ordinary sessions, which will be headed by Javier Milei this Saturday at 9 p.m. "Technically, they are already inside the Court," they say.

Neither a setback in the Senate nor criticism from the opposition has altered the climate of optimism in the ruling party. “They can't do anything,” they say from Balcarce 50.

They assure that beyond the noise generated in Comodoro Py and the internal conflict that the Supreme Court of Justice is going through, there would be no judicial obstacles for Lijo to take leave from his position as a federal judge and they emphasize that the ministers of the Court “cannot refuse” to swear them in, since “they are obliged to do so because it is a constitutional power of the Executive.”

As noted in the press conference given by presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, the line of discourse outlined by star advisor Santiago Caputo was to emphasize that the Court was operating under an “emergency mechanism” and its five-member composition had to be completed.

And that, from a political point of view, the negotiation opportunities for the specifications to advance "have already been exhausted."

Part of that text is even included in the decree signed by Milei and published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette.

At Balcarce 50 they dismiss any fear of possible challenges: they consider that the legal debate “does not exist”. “There are many precedents of appointments by commission. Maybe they question it now because they don't like the names, but to have an opinion on who the President chooses they first have to win an election,” they joked.

The decree cites 19 historical precedents of commissioned appointments of federal judges, from Urquiza to Macri, passing through Perón, Alfonsín and Menem. “Whenever the Supreme Court had to rule on these appointments, it recognized that the President has the power to do so,” the official text argues.

However, the Casa Rosada is aware that Kirchnerism and other opposition sectors will try to stop the appointments. In particular, they expect Unión por la Patria to try to align sectors of the PRO, the UCR and even Senator Francisco Paoltroni, who broke with the ruling party and has been a strong critic of Lijo.

“There is no way they can overthrow Lijo and Mansilla. No matter how much they cry, they cannot get rid of them,” say those close to Milei. Along those lines, they explain that the opposition does not have the tools to reverse the decree, as they did try with the DNU or the pension reform.

Adorni defended the decision with a clear message: “The judges were appointed by commission and that is the decision of the President. The corresponding legal steps will be followed and there is not much more to clarify. The Senate had the documents for a year without resolving them, and this is within the constitutional powers of the Executive.”

While the opposition is considering calling a special session, the government is doubling its bet and believes that, if the issue reaches the floor, they could recover the votes that vanished in the failed session last Friday. “We want to see who dares to raise their hand to reject Lijo,” they challenge. Perhaps in an excess of optimism and with some imprudence, the Government doubts that the 34 senators of the UxP interblock will fulfill their promise of “rejecting the list of a judge who accepts an appointment by decree.”

The K's claim to be able to gather the necessary numbers to discuss Lijo's petition in the chamber and reject it with an absolute majority, that is, with 37 votes, 13 more than the third needed to reject it.

Although the expansion of the Court “is not on the Government’s agenda,” La Libertad Avanza does not rule out considering claims from the Patria Institute if that helps guarantee the final approval of the documents, but “without giving up the President’s will.” “We always said that it was both or none and we kept our word,” they emphasize.

"Lijo's votes are still there in the Senate. They wanted to make us pay the cost of the decree, but they will end up approving it," the Government concludes.

With Lijo and García Mansilla now in the High Court, the Government will once again put on the table the lists of 150 judges, prosecutors and defenders, key vacancies in the Judiciary, which are still awaiting their submission to the Senate: in the presidential entourage they believe that this will be the tool that breaks the cohesion in Peronism, with the argument that “there are few who do not want to give an opinion” on the candidates to be appointed. “At the end of the road, Lijo and García Mansilla will have the agreement of the Senate,” they conclude.