Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Tuesday threatened to sue House Speaker Mike Johnson if he doesn't swear in Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.
"On behalf of Arizona, I am demanding Speaker Johnson seat Congresswoman Grij[a]lva without delay. We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona's newest member of Congress," Mayes wrote in a post on X, including a copy of the letter she sent Johnson, telling him he had to swear in Grijalva or she would file suit.
Grijalva won her U.S. House seat in a special election on Sept. 23 but has still not been sworn in by Johnson. Her victory was officially certified by Arizona election officials on Tuesday.
Johnson has made varying excuses for why he hasn't seated Grijalva, none of which hold up to scrutiny.
Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, shown in September.
Johnson has said he can't swear Grijalva in because the House isn't in session.
“As I have said repeatedly, the House will follow customary practice by swearing in Rep.-elect Grijalva when the House is in legislative session,” Johnson said in a statement in response to Mayes’ letter.
However, that is a lie. Earlier this year, Johnson swore in two Florida GOP lawmakers the day after they won special elections, even though the House was in recess.
But when reporters have pointed out that Johnson can still swear Grijalva in during a recess, he then said that those two Florida Republicans were given the oath because their families had flown in.
“There was a unique exception made when the two Florida representatives were sworn in earlier this year, after winning a special election. And the only reason we did that is because it was previously noticed for that date and they flew all their families and friends in for the ceremony,” Johnson said on Oct. 8.
But when asked if Johnson would do the same for Grijalva if her family was in the Capitol, Johnson said no. “These are distractions,” he added.
Of course, the real reason Johnson is not swearing in Grijalva is because she would be the final vote needed to force a vote on releasing the government’s files on accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Johnson clearly does not want that vote to take place, since President Donald Trump’s name reportedly appears numerous times in the files.
Johnson denies that he's not swearing Grijalva in to avoid an Epstein files vote.
“This has absolutely nothing to do about Epstein. This is a scheduling matter,” he said on Oct. 8.
However, even Johnson's own GOP colleagues say Grijalva hasn't been sworn in because of the Epstein files situation.
A bus stop in London displays a photo of President Donald Trump and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, which was placed by activists, in July.
"Contrary to what he says, [Johnson] is doing everything he can, including delaying the swearing in of the most recently elected member of Congress and spreading misinformation about the legislation, to block a vote in Congress on legislation to release the Epstein files," Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who sponsored legislation to release the Epstein files, wrote in a post on X.
Grijalva, for her part, has been loudly campaigning for Johnson to seat her.
On Tuesday, she walked with fellow female Democratic lawmakers to Johnson's office in the Capitol to demand she be sworn in.
“Speaker Johnson has exhausted every excuse to delay my swearing-in," Grijalva said in a statement. "I am simply asking him to abide by the same precedent he set when he swore in his Republican colleagues within 24 hours of their special elections and during pro forma sessions earlier this year. Any further delay reveals his true motive: Speaker Johnson is stalling because he knows I will be the 218th signature on the discharge petition to release the Epstein files."
On Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers held another news conference on Capitol Hill demanding Johnson swear Grijalva in.
"Speaker Johnson is covering up for pedophiles,” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said at the news conference.
