Arizona AG, Rep-elect Grijalva Sue House to Force Her Long-Delayed Swearing In

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) and Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva (D) sued on Tuesday to force House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to finally swear her in formally. Grijalva was elected to replace her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D), on September 23, and still hasn’t been sworn in nearly a month later. While running, she vowed to be the last member needed to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. The lawsuit tracks Speaker Johnson’s “inconsistent” reasoning for refusing to seat Grijalva. After initially saying he would swear her in “as soon as she wants,” he quickly pivoted to saying he wouldn’t do it until the House is back in session, linking it to the government shutdown. The suit also takes a jab at one of Johnson’s short-lived excuses for delaying the ceremony; he pointed to the delay in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) swearing in of Rep. Julia Letlow (R-VA), which happened about a month after her election. The suit points out that Pelosi had contacted Letlow to ascertain her preferred date. “But, on information and belief, then-Speaker Pelosi communicated with Dr. Letlow immediately after the election, and the swearing in was scheduled at a time convenient for all parties,” said a footnote. “Ms. Grijalva would be delighted if Speaker Johnson would contact her to commit to a mutually agreeable time, as Speaker Pelosi did for Dr. Letlow.” Mayes and Grijalva request a declaratory judgment from the court saying that if Johnson won’t administer the oath, it can be administered “by any person authorized by law to administer oaths under the law of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the State of Arizona.” For the past few weeks, Grijalva was not sworn in during several pro forma sessions in the House, despite an intense push from Democrats. House Democrats tried to raise the issue multiple times on the House floor, but Republicans refused to recognize them. Johnson swore in two Republicans during a pro forma session earlier this year. Earlier this month, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) confronted Johnson in front of his office about the delay. Gallego accused Johnson of wanting to “cover up for pedophiles on the Epstein list” during the heated exchange. Johnson pushed back, saying it “has nothing to do” with Epstein. “This is an excuse so she doesn’t sign on to that,” Gallego said. “This is absurd,” Johnson responded, adding: “This is a publicity stunt.” Read the lawsuit here.