Democrats Ramp Up Threats as GOP Blocks New Member’s Swearing-In

Democrats are preparing for a legal fight as Speaker Mike Johnson continues to delay the swearing-in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva until after the government shutdown.

Grijalva (D-Ariz.) won a special election in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District in September to replace her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), in the House. Speaker Johnson’s refusal to swear her in has become a key part of Democratic attacks during the shutdown, as House Republican leadership has kept the House out of session.

“If she is not sworn in today, during the pro forma session today, as the Arizona Attorney General has made clear, expect swift and decisive legal action,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters.

The House will convene in a pro forma session at 2 p.m., and Johnson so far has declined to formally seat the Arizona Democrat during the brief ceremonial floor proceedings that take place every few days of recess. The House has been out of session for almost a month as GOP leaders refuse to reconvene the chamber until Senate Democrats drop their health care demands and end the government shutdown.

Jeffries’ comments came after Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote a letter to Johnson earlier this week, demanding Johnson “immediately” swear Grijalva in. Mayes said if Johnson (R-La.) did not respond by yesterday, “we will be forced to seek judicial relief to protect Arizona and the residents of its Seventh Congressional District.”

Johnson Unswayed

The accusations and legal threats have so far done nothing to sway Johnson.

“I thought Hakeem was a better attorney than that,” Johnson said in response to Jeffries’ comments Friday, before referring to the threat of a lawsuit as a “publicity stunt by a Democrat Attorney General in Arizona who sees a national moment and wants to call me out.” The speaker said he’ll swear Grijalva in as soon as the government reopens and the House returns to session.

Though two House Republicans were sworn in during a pro forma session earlier this year, Johnson said that was simply because their swearings-in had already been scheduled, noting that Grijalva’s situation is different.

House and Senate Democrats have accused Johnson of delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in because she’ll be the decisive 218th signature on a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“Johnson is protecting pedophiles — that’s what this is all about,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said earlier this week.

Grijalva now occupies the congressional office once held by her late father, but her transition to the House has been delayed as she’s not yet a formal member. She and dozens of House Democrats marched toward Johnson’s office earlier this week, chanting “swear her in,” but the speaker wasn’t there at the time. He’s brushed off the calls to seat Grijalva as theatrics.

“I would say to Rep. Grijalva, if her Democrat colleagues and leadership have not informed her, ‘you can be serving your constituents right now,” Johnson said Friday.

“You have an office,” Johnson added. “She’s hired 16 employees. They keep going by and knocking on the door and pretending it’s locked. If it’s locked, it’s because Rep. Grijalva is choosing not to represent her constituents.”