The Argentine government’s press secretary, Eduardo Serenellini, resigned over “personal reasons” on Tuesday, the latest of dozens of departures in President Javier Milei’s cabinet. Local media has speculated that the president’s sister and the Presidency’s General Secretary, Karina Milei, was behind Serellenini’s ousting.

Before being appointed, Serenellini worked as a journalist at the La Nación + TV station, where he famously defended Milei’s austerity measures. In December 2023, one week after the libertarian economist took office, Serenellini urged the public to “accept” they would see their purchasing power reduced, even when it implied skipping meals.

Days later, Serenellini was sworn in as press secretary, replacing Belén Stettler, who had been in the position for only two weeks.

However, according to local media reports, Serenellini’s role was reduced over time, as he lost power against Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni. 

The dismissal came less than a week after another high-profile cabinet reshuffle — Treasury’s Prosecution Office Rodolfo Barra was asked to resign over “irreconcilable differences in management,” a source close to him told the Herald. His replacement was announced hours before Serenellini’s departure.

Barra’s dismissal was not the first top official to leave the Milei administration. In his first year in office, Milei’s cabinet lost 67 officials, including Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, Labor Secretary Omar Yasín, and Chief of Staff Nicolás Posse.

According to the Herald’s sister publication Ámbito, Serenellini’s departure “was only a matter of time,” as Karina Milei criticized him for “maintaining an agenda of meetings with business chambers, organizations, and even security forces, leaving his duties as Press Secretary unattended.”

Adorni will be taking over Serenellini’s duties on top of his own, Ámbito wrote.

“I thank [Milei] for his trust, and I maintain a great friendship,” Serenellini said in an X post.