Argentina cabinet chief resigns after corruption scandal deepens pressure on Milei

Manuel Adorni resigned as Javier Milei’s cabinet chief after federal prosecutors opened an illicit-enrichment probe and scrutiny intensified over spending that included a first-class family trip to Aruba at Christmas and a private-jet flight to Uruguay during Carnival. The departure is an early stress test for Milei’s anti-establishment brand, coming as his government faces weaker public support and growing questions about ethics inside his inner circle.

Adorni, one of Milei’s closest confidants, had been appointed cabinet chief in November 2025 after serving as the president’s spokesman from the start of the administration. In the resignation letter he posted on X, Adorni wrote, “For the first time since December 10, 2023, I am going against your wishes,” underscoring how unusual the break was inside a government built on personal loyalty.

The corruption case has widened beyond travel expenses. Adorni has denied wrongdoing and told lawmakers earlier this year that he had not committed a crime and would prove it in court. He later acknowledged in an interview that he had long kept undeclared money and corrected his 2023 and 2024 asset declarations to reflect roughly US$500,000 that had not previously been reported. Separate testimony from a supplier also added to the pressure, with a claim that Adorni paid $245,000 in cash, without an invoice, for renovations on one of the properties he has acquired.

Milei had defended Adorni in May, saying, “I’m not going to execute an innocent person,” but the political cost has mounted as the scandal collided with an economy in which purchasing power has lagged inflation. A May poll by Opina Argentina put Milei’s positive image at 39 percent, down from 53 percent more than a year earlier, suggesting the administration’s message is losing traction even before the resignation.

The institutional response has also become part of the story. Opposition lawmakers moved on June 22 to push Adorni to answer questions in Congress about his assets, while federal prosecutors continued examining his finances. That combination of courtroom pressure, legislative scrutiny and public anger leaves Milei defending a senior aide whose departure marks the first time since he took office on December 10, 2023, that Adorni openly said he was acting against the president’s wishes.