WATCH: Johnson says Democrats 'have to open the government' before he'll swear in Adelita Grijalva

House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted Tuesday that he would not swear in Adelita Grijalva, the newly elected representative for Arizona, until Democrats relent and end the two-week-and-counting government shutdown.

“As soon as Chuck Schumer opens the government, as soon as Mark Kelly and Sen. Gallego, the two senators from Arizona, Ms. Grijalva’s state, will go and join with three others and open the government, we're happy. We'll have that as soon as we get back to business, but we have to get back to business. They have to open the government,” Johnson told a reporter at a news conference on Tuesday.

Grijalva won a Sept. 23 special election for the seat formerly held by her father, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who died earlier this year after more than two decades in office.

The victors of special elections are usually sworn in during times when Congress is conducting legislative business. Before the shutdown, Johnson had said that Grijalva would be sworn in when the House returns to session. A week into the shutdown, Johnson said he would swear in Grijalva whenever she wanted. The speaker quickly swore in two Florida congressmen in early April during a pro forma session held less than a day after they won election.

Once sworn in, the new lawmaker would provide the final vote necessary for a discharge petition to force the House to vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democrats, including Grijalva, have argued that she is being prevented from joining the chamber to further delay greater transparency into the Epstein case.

“Everybody in Congress, I think, is for maximum transparency of the Epstein files. That is underway right now,” Johnson said.

“You can't just wave a wand and just, you know, open the floodgates. You have to make sure that the victims don't suffer additional harms,” he added later.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote in a Tuesday letter to Johnson that he was violating the Constitution. She promised to take legal action if he did not confirm a time for Grijalva's swearing-in within two days.

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