Adelita Grijalva set to be sworn in after weeks of delay
Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva is expected to be sworn into Congress on Wednesday, more than seven weeks after her special election victory, ending a prolonged delay that left over 800,000 Arizonans without representation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will administer the oath of office as the House reconvenes to vote on a plan to reopen the government following a record shutdown, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Grijalva, the daughter of longtime Rep. Raúl Grijalva, suggested that her support for releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files may have contributed to the holdup. “I do believe there is absolutely a connection,” she told NPR’s All Things Considered.
Her swearing-in could prove pivotal — she has pledged to sign the bipartisan discharge petition that would force a vote on unsealing the Epstein documents. Her signature would mark the 218th needed to advance the effort, co-led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Democrats have accused Johnson of deliberately delaying the process to postpone that vote. Johnson, however, denied the claims, saying the delay was tied to the shutdown and that he intends to allow a vote on the files.
Grijalva won the Sept. 23 special election to represent Arizona’s 7th District, which includes parts of Tucson. Since then, she has operated without staff or congressional resources.
Upon taking office, Grijalva said her priorities include justice for Epstein survivors and ensuring “consequences for those who committed crimes against children and women.” Her first official vote is expected to be on the government funding measure, which she said she will not support, arguing that Democratic concessions in the bill “weren’t significant enough.”
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