Rep-Elect Adelita Grijalva Will Finally Be Sworn In
Rep-Elect Adelita Grijalva Will Finally Be Sworn In After 7 Weeks
The House is set to return this week to vote on a spending bill that will end the almost month-and-a-half-long government shutdown. In addition to reopening the government, House Speaker Mike Johnson will finally swear in Arizona Representative-Elect Adelita Grijalva, 50 days after she was elected.
According to NPR, the first vote Grijalva is expected to cast will be on the spending bill to reopen the government. Grijalva has said that she intended to vote against the bill as the measures secured by Senate Democrats “weren’t significant in making a difference for anybody who’s fighting to keep their health care.” Adelita Grijalva won a special election on Sept. 23 to serve out the remainder of her father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s term, after he died earlier this year.
Johnson has done an incredible amount of flip-flopping over swearing in Grijalva. At first, he said he was willing to swear in Grijalva as soon as they wanted. As the government shutdown continued, Johnson refused to swear in Grijalva, citing the “Pelosi Precedent.”
According to Time, the precedent he’s referencing occurred in 2022 when there was a three-week delay in swearing in Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan and Republican Joe Sempolinski, both from New York. The difference is that their special election occurred during the planned recess Congress takes every August, whereas Johnson has simply refused to call the House back in session throughout the shutdown.
Adelita Grijalva frequently called out Johnson for delaying her swearing in, with the Arizona Attorney General even filing a federal lawsuit to swear Grijalva in if Johnson continued to refuse. “For seven weeks, 813,000 Arizonans have been denied a voice and access to basic constituent services,” Grijalva said in a statement posted on X. “This is an abuse of power that no Speaker should have.”
One of Grijalva’s campaign promises was to sign a bipartisan petition in the House that would force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. While Johnson has repeatedly said that his refusal to swear in Adelita Grijalva has nothing to do with a potential vote on the Epstein files, Grijalva believes otherwise. “I do believe that there is absolutely a connection,” Grijalva told NPR. “That has resulted in denying representation to more than 800,000 Arizonans for the last seven weeks.”
According to the New York Times, Sen. Reuben Gallego (D-Ariz.) called out Johnson for the delay, saying that he was “covering up for pedophiles.”
Grijalva’s swearing in comes as more damning allegations were revealed on Wednesday regarding President Donald Trump’s knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls. According to NBC News, House Democrats released an email sent by Epstein alleging that Trump “knew about the girls.” Another one of the emails alleges that Trump spent hours with a victim at Epstein’s house. “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him; he has never once been mentioned. Police chief. etc. I’m 75 % there,” the email said.
Beyond Adelita Grijalva’s swearing in, narrowing the GOP’s slim majority in the House, it potentially sets in motion the release of the Epstein files. A vote on releasing the files could come as soon as December, which could reveal, at best, unflattering and, at worst, downright horrifying things about the sitting president. Either way, it’s going to be an interesting Christmas at the White House.
SEE ALSO:
Arizona AG Sues House Over Delay In Adelita Grijalva’s Swearing In
Adelita Grijalva’s Special Election Victory Narrows GOP House Majority
