WASHINGTON — House Democrats are criticizing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for failing to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva amid the government shutdown, accusing the top Republican of stonewalling her support to release the Epstein files.
Grijalva won her special election to replace her late father in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District on Sept. 23, just over a week before the 2025 fiscal year ended and the federal government entered a shutdown. But Grijalva has yet to be sworn into her position despite pleas from her Democratic colleagues as Johnson says he won’t add her to the ranks until the government is reopened.
“Because we’re not in session. But when we get back, we’ll do that in regular order,” Johnson told MSNBC over the weekend. “And I congratulate her. She’s filling her father’s seat. He had a long career in Congress, and I’m sure she will as well. So, we look forward to that.”
But Democrats claim there’s more going on behind the scenes.
Once Grijalva is sworn in, she is expected to sign on to an existing discharge petition compelling the Justice Department to publish all its investigative materials related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, making her the 218th and final signature needed to schedule a vote.
Once the 218 signatures are secured, the petition is immediately “frozen” and printed into the congressional record, according to House rules. The petition must then sit for seven legislative days before a signatory of the petition can request a floor vote.
Grijalva was expected to be sworn in on Sept. 29, but that was later delayed after Johnson canceled votes in the House as part of efforts to pressure Senate Democrats to approve the GOP-led spending resolution to keep the government open. Senate Democrats have so far failed to do so, prompting Johnson to cancel votes from Oct. 6-14 — making it unclear when Grijalva will be permitted to join her Democratic colleagues.
“I would be the final vote on releasing the Epstein Files and they don’t want them out,” Grijalva said in a post on X. “The American people deserve transparency and accountability!”
Grijalva even traveled to Washington last week as Democrats met on Capitol Hill amid the shutdown, but was not sworn in. The House hasn’t been in session since Sept. 19.
Although Johnson has maintained the House must be in session to perform the swearing-in, Grijalva and other Democrats pointed to the swearings-in of Republican Reps. Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis who were added to the House ranks on April 2 during a pro forma session, during which the House convenes during recess but does not involve voting on legislation. The House has met for three pro forma sessions since Grijalva’s electoral victory.
Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, took to the House floor during the pro forma session on Monday to seek recognition and request a date to schedule Grijalva’s swearing in. But Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., adjourned without recognizing him.
“What we asked for was that we get a commitment that the speaker swear in Rep.-elect elect Grijalva at the next legislative day, which could be a pro forma day, or it could be a day where we’re doing legislation,” McGovern told reporters. “I mean, they are so frightened of the Epstein files. I don’t know what the hell’s in them, but this place doesn’t work. This is outrageous.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., filed the discharge petition last month, which allows lawmakers to bring legislation to the House floor even without leadership’s approval — so long as they get a majority of House members to sign on.
Grijalva would join all House Democrats who have already signed on as well as four Republicans, including Massie and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
GOP leadership has been wary of forcing a vote on the matter due to opposition from President Donald Trump, with a White House official even telling the Deseret News in early September that a signature on the petition would “be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration.”
Instead, Republicans passed a resolution to encourage the House Oversight Committee to continue its current investigation into Epstein — an inquiry that has already resulted in the Justice Department handing over thousands of pages to lawmakers last month.
But Massie has argued that resolution only requires the Oversight Committee to publish the documents that are handed over by the DOJ — whereas he wants the DOJ itself to release all documents in its possession.
Johnson has pushed back against arguments that he is delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in to avoid a vote on the Epstein files, telling MSNBC he is “for maximum disclosure.”
“I want every page of this out,” he said. “Donald Trump is not implicated in this. He wants to protect the innocent victims. He’s very passionate about that. He’s for maximum disclosure and his DOJ has shown that.”