Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva and the state of Arizona filed a lawsuit against the House Tuesday, as
The suit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Grijalva won a special election to replace her late father on Sept. 23, but won’t become a member of Congress until Johnson officially seats her. Grijalva will narrow the GOP’s House advantage to 219-214. She’ll also be the deciding 218th signature, forcing a vote to release files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, which Republican leadership and
As Johnson keeps the House out of Washington amid a 21-day — and counting — government shutdown, he has refused to swear Grijalva in until the chamber returns to session. Grijalva and other Democrats say this denies Southern Arizonans the full congressional representation they’re entitled to.
Johnson last week called Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ threats of legal action a “publicity stunt by a Democrat Attorney General in Arizona who sees a national moment and wants to call me out.” He said Monday that Grijalva could, and should, answer constituents’ questions and work on their behalf even as she awaits her formal swearing-in.
However, Grijalva says it’s far more complicated than that, since she lacks an office budget and a district office needed to reach her constituents. She also does not have a House member website or publicly available phone line. The number for her late father’s office connects to a recorded message telling callers to contact their other Arizona representatives, and the district office line still has a voicemail from late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D), who died in March.
The case is Ariz. v. House of Representatives, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-03740, complaint filed 10/21/25.
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