WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifty days after her election, Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona is set to be sworn into Congress on Wednesday, ending a nearly two-month delay that left her district without representation during the nation’s longest government shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is expected to administer the oath as lawmakers return to session to consider a plan to reopen the government.
Grijalva, a Democrat representing Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, suggested in an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered that her support for releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files may have contributed to the delay. “I do believe that there is absolutely a connection,” she said, arguing the stall denied more than 800,000 Arizonans their voice in Congress. Grijalva’s pledge to join a bipartisan petition led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would add the decisive 218th signature needed to force a vote on releasing the files.
Johnson has denied the delay was politically motivated, saying he planned to hold the swearing-in after government operations resumed. Democrats accused Johnson of obstruction, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling the delays “unbelievable.” Grijalva said her first votes will focus on reopening the government but noted she will oppose the bipartisan Senate plan, arguing Democratic concessions “weren’t significant in making a difference for anybody who’s fighting to keep their health care.”
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