The Senate does not act on the rejection of the Lijo and Mansilla proposals and there are divided libraries

Decree 137/2025, by which Javier Milei appointed "on commission" federal judges Ariel Lijo and Manuel García Mansilla to the Supreme Court "until the end of the next legislative period," became a hot potato in the Senate, where there are divided libraries on the possibilities that legislators have to stop the appointment of the lawyers.

Although almost all the blocks, including the allies of the PRO and the UCR, repudiated Milei's decision and Unión por la Patria boasts of having the numbers to reject both candidates, no party has yet announced whether they will ask for a special session to move from declarations to actions. "There are no legal certainties and there are divided visions," confirmed a senator.

They don't have much time to think. A group of legislators is warning about the possibility that the Government may withdraw the documents so that they cannot reject them. That is a right that the Executive has. To withdraw them, no vote is necessary, but the administrative process is completed when the President's message of withdrawal is read at the beginning of a session.

"If they remove them and do not send other names, it is crazy. Because a year will pass, and so what? Milei is going to issue a new decree for another year? Beyond the fact that the constitutional mandate of Senate approval would not be met, the judges would be at the mercy of a decree and if they do not do what Milei wants, they will not be renewed. And the independence of the Court?" analyzes a senator who knows about the subject.

But the next question is what happens if the government does not withdraw the petitions and the Senate rejects them. There are divided opinions : some legislators and constitutionalists say that if the Senate rejects them, the judges should stop sitting on the Court. Others argue that the Senate's rejection would not reverse the decision, especially if the Court swears them in.

"In any case, they can stay for a year, but when the parliamentary year ends, they will both be out of the game because their names have already been rejected by the Senate," said a Peronist.

Others contradict: "The one-year period set is not a mandate, it is a time given to the Senate to deal with the agreement. If it falls through, they should be removed."

On the other hand, the possibility of rejecting the decree itself by a simple majority - something that several have suggested - also draws the rejection of the majority of senators.

They point out that since it is not a Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) but an autonomous decree issued as a result of the powers granted to the Presidency by article 99, it does not have the same treatment. In fact, some argue, it would be ridiculous for it to go to the bicameral legislative process and for the deputies to have an influence on a matter of documents, which is not within their powers. Only the Senate gives its approval, or not, to the appointments.

Constitutionalist Diego Armesto recalls that the appointment of judges is a shared power. " The Senate has a say in this instance," he said in an interview with Clarín. He even recalls the 1958 ruling of Judge Belisario Montero, a judge appointed on commission that Congress revoked. In that case, likewise, the Senate gave the green light to his replacement and Belisario Montero wanted to stay in the post until the end of the parliamentary year. But the decision of Congress prevailed and he could not do so.

The extra problem in this case is that if Lijo is rejected, there is no other name proposed. There is no plan B.

That being the case, Congress will wait to see if the Court swears them in and the tone of Milei's speech at the opening of the legislative sessions on March 1. Once the ordinary period has begun, they will design a strategy. Although there are furious opponents of Lijo in the dialogue benches, they do not want to sign a request for a special session with Kirchnerism. That is their limit. In UP they have not yet decided if they will make a request on their own, although they assure that they have the 25 legislators to block the petitions.