Congress removed Marisa Graham and the Children's Ombudsman's Office was left headless.

With the support of the PRO and the UCR, the ruling party removed Marisa Graham from the Children's Ombudsman's Office, leaving her without a leader . In mid-June, the Bicameral Assembly responsible for Congress will open a competition to select her replacement.

As Clarín reported, Graham's term expired in February because the Bicameral Assembly never met to select his successor. In fact, it was only formed in March. To avoid being left without a leader, Graham extended his term via resolution until his replacement was elected, which led to complaints against him.

"The tacit extension is the same one used before us by the National Committee Against Torture, which was in the same situation: a bicameral body that didn't comply. But that bicameral body acknowledged its lack of compliance and approved the tacit extension," the Ombudsman's Office explains.

This Wednesday, amid accusations of "attitudes bordering on the crime of sedition," the Bicameral Assembly chaired by Radical Natalia Sarapura ousted her and her deputy, Facundo Hernández, of the Radical faction. They did so with votes from La Libertad Avanza, which spearheaded the movement, the PRO party, and the UCR itself.

"I see it as unfair. All they were looking for was to remove me without considering the consequences. Perhaps it was to disrupt the Ombudsman's Office's activities against this administration's policies of defunding and draining resources, but we also made presentations to the previous administration and to provincial governments," Graham told Clarín.

The now former public defender was critical of the social policies of Javier Milei's administration, filed injunctions against Minister Sandra Pettovello in the soup kitchen case, and also spoke out against the bill to lower the age of criminal responsibility presented by Patricia Bullrich.

It's currently unclear who bears responsibility for the actions and injunctions pending against the Ombudsman's Office , although they indicated that the Chief of Staff and the Legal and Technical official, the defender's attorney, are pursuing their course of action. Although the Chief of Staff has some limitations on his actions, and in the case of the attorney, it's also unclear whether the power granted by Graham is valid now that she is no longer the defender. The commission will meet again next week.

"We're not removing her; her term has already ended, and she's continuing illegitimately; she's usurping the position," asserted Libertarian representative Nadia Márquez.

When the Bicameral Assembly was formed in March, the ruling party was unable to impose Márquez as president, and the Union for the Homeland and the UCR agreed to appoint the Radical Party's Natalia Sarapura.

That day, Márquez denounced an "explicit and vulgar agreement" between the "same scourge of the UCR" and the UP. "Now, thanks to them, they're going to once again protect the disastrous Children's Ombudsman, or rather, the non-defender, for the poor work she did in these five years," he stated. Following his logic, the UCR now agreed with the LLA because the Radical Representative and Senator voted to reject Graham's resolution that modified the regulations to extend the mandate.

"She is illegally and unconstitutionally occupying a position to which she was elected for a specific term; the act borders on the crime of sedition. We cannot accept that a person would decide on his own to violate the law that clearly established the term of her term. It would be grave if this Congress were to validate this unprecedented irregularity," added fellow Libertarian Nicolás Mayoraz.

Both received congratulations from the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Martín Menem, who posted a photo with them on social media. "Putting things right at the Children's Ombudsman's Office. Excellent work," Menem stated.

Legislators from the Union for the Homeland party argued that Graham should remain in her position until a replacement is appointed and defended the former Ombudsman's attitude: "She attempted to maintain the institutional framework that this Congress failed to guarantee," they stated. Representative Daniel Pablo Bensusán maintained that "it is absolutely irresponsible to remove the Ombudsman's Office" and asked who will be responsible for what happens in the coming months.