Washington D.C. - House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing accusations of political obstruction as he delays the swearing-in of Arizona Representative-elect Adelita grijalva, a Democrat representing Southern Arizona. The delay comes as Grijalva is poised to become the 218th signature needed to force a vote on a discharge petition demanding the release of the Epstein files.
Grijalva, who won a special election to fill the seat vacated by Representative Raúl Grijalva, stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the timing of the delay “is not a coincidence,” adn raises “serious questions about political motivations.” She added, “Every day that speaker Johnson delays is another day Southern Arizonans are left without a voice in Congress and without essential in-district services.”
The house was scheduled for a pro forma session on Tuesday, but Johnson canceled it, prompting a letter from Democratic Whip Katherine Clark questioning the postponement. Clark wrote that any delay in swearing in Grijalva “unnecessarily deprives her constituents of depiction and calls into question if the motive behind the delay is to further avoid the release of the Epstein files.”
Representative Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., echoed Grijalva’s concerns, stating that Grijalva’s swearing-in would provide the final signature needed to bring the discharge petition to a vote before the entire House.
Speaker Johnson’s office maintains the delay is standard procedure.A spokesperson told FOX 10, “as is standard practice, with the House now having received the appropriate paperwork from the state, the Speaker’s office intends to schedule a swearing in for the Representative-elect when the House returns to session.”
The next scheduled session is October 7, but Grijalva has expressed uncertainty about being sworn in at that time. The discharge petition, if prosperous, would compel a vote on releasing the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.