Johnson vs. Grijalva on her swearing-in delay

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 government shutdown that has entered its third week. Grijalva, speaking alongside Democrats, including Sen. Mark Kelly, at a news briefing on Wednesday, said the delay “is not procedural. It’s intentional.”

Grijalva won a Sept. 23 special election for the seat formerly held by her father, 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 as soon as 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 their election.

“It's a great honor, but she won her election after the House was out of session, so we've not had a full session,” Johnson said Tuesday. “She deserves to have all the pomp and circumstance that everybody else does.”

Once sworn in, Grijalva said she 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 Tuesday.

“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.

Grijalva said Wednesday that Johnson’s actions are “shielding” the Trump administration from accountability on its handling of the Epstein files.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote in a Tuesday letter to Johnson that he was violating the Constitution by delaying the swearing-in. 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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