House Democrats press Johnson on swearing in Adelita Grijalva on Friday
A letter sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), signed by 180 House Democrats, called for Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to be sworn in Friday.
Grijalva won the special election to fill the seat in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District held by her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), late last month.
However, the House was out of session all of last week, and Johnson and GOP leaders opted against swearing her in during a pro forma session Tuesday. The House returns to regular session Oct. 7.
The letter, obtained by The Hill and sent Thursday, noted that Florida Republican Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine were sworn in a day after their special election victories in April during a pro forma session. The House was in session the day of their elections.
It also points out that Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw (Va.) was sworn in during a full session on Sept. 10, the day after his special election victory.
The Arizona Democrat has been on Capitol Hill this week and called the delay “very problematic” on Tuesday.
“We’re facing a government shutdown,” Grijalva told reporters at the time. “We’re going to have constituents who have questions, and there is nobody there to answer questions.”
Grijalva has also said she will sign a petition to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once she is sworn in. The petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), has 217 signatures, one less than it needs to reach the House floor.
Noting that Johnson’s office has received the necessary paperwork from Arizona, the letter calls for Grijalva to be sworn in during Friday’s pro forma session.
“Continuing to delay Representative-elect Grijalva’s ceremony has left her constituents without representation during the government shutdown. Just like her many colleagues before her, Representative-elect Grijalva deserves to be sworn in as soon as possible,” the letter concludes.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Johnson pointed The Hill to the Speaker’s comments to CBS on Thursday morning.
“The House is not on the floor doing business this week, but we will do it immediately early next week as soon as everyone returns to town,” Johnson said. “We have to have everybody here and we’ll swear her in.
“I congratulate her on her win. She is replacing her father who had a long history here, and she’ll be a productive member of Congress,” he continued. “We look forward to that.”