Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Arizona, along with Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in front of the U.S. Capitol on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — Outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won her election last month and will become Arizona’s first elected Latina, said the House speaker’s delay in the swearing-in was “intentional.”
“This delay is not procedural,” she said, joined by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has repeatedly argued that he is holding off on swearing in the Arizona Democrat elected last month to fill the seat of her tardy father Raúl Grijalva, who died earlier this year, until Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government. The shutdown has been going on for now 15 days.
“She won her election after the House was out of session,” said Johnson, who has stayed away from the House for the duration of the lockdown. “That’s not planned because we haven’t had this session yet. As soon as (Senator) Chuck Schumer opens the government … we’ll have that as soon as we get back to business.”
Epstein petition
Johnson previously sworn in three members when the House was not in session – two Republicans and one Democrat.
But Democrats accuse Johnson of not swearing in at Grijalva because she would give Democrats and a handful of Republicans the final vote to force the Justice Department to release documents on tardy sex offender and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who frequented the president. Republicans control the House of Representatives with a narrow majority of 219 votes to 213.
“Speaker Johnson knows that I will be the 218th signatory of the dismissal petition,” Grijalva said, referring to a bipartisan petition seeking to force a vote on the measure. “He is doing everything in his power to shield this government from accountability.”
Democrats earlier this month attempted to gain recognition during the House’s pro forma session to swear in Grijalva, but Republicans leading the chamber ignored those efforts.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has also threatened Johnson with legal action if Grijalva is not sworn in.
The chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, said Democrats are “exploring all possible options.”
“But we are calling on Speaker Johnson to appoint her immediately so that the people she represents, the people she represents, continue to receive the services they deserve,” he said.
Senators from Arizona speak out
Arizona Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego said they pushed Johnson to swear in Grijalva and demanded answers.
Kelly, who lives in Grijalva County, said those voters are not represented in Congress.
“And that’s wrong,” he said.
Gallego was blunt about the reason for Grijalva’s delay.
“Speaker Johnson protects pedophiles,” he said. “He has one more day to protect all these pedophiles, whether they are Donald Trump or one of his elite rich friends.”
Last month, House Democrats revealed through a subpoena an offensive image and inscription that they claimed was a birthday note provided by President Donald Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday book, compiled by the financier’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
The subpoena stems from records in the government’s 2019 federal sex trafficking case against Epstein, which came to featherlight afterward a year-long investigation by the Miami Herald More than 60 women were tracked down, most of whom were minors at the time, and who described their sexual abuse.
