In a political standoff that has gripped both Arizona and the halls of Congress, Adelita Grijalva, the newly elected Democratic representative from southern Arizona, remains locked out of her rightful seat nearly a month after her landslide victory. The controversy, which has drawn national attention, centers not only on the mechanics of congressional procedure but also on the explosive issue of the unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files—a topic that has long fueled speculation and partisanship in Washington.
Grijalva, a Tucson native and former Pima County supervisor, won the special election on September 23, 2025, with a commanding 69% of the vote, succeeding her late father, Raul Grijalva, who had represented the district for over two decades until his death earlier this year. According to the Los Angeles Times, the outcome was never in doubt in the solidly Democratic district, and under normal circumstances, Grijalva would have already taken the oath of office and begun serving her constituents.
But these are not normal times. As reported by NPR and corroborated by multiple outlets, Grijalva has been denied entry to her congressional office on Capitol Hill and remains unsworn, despite the urgent needs of her district. "I have no staff. The phones don't work. There's no computer. We don't have a government email," Grijalva told NPR, describing her surreal predicament. Instead, she has been forced to operate out of her campaign headquarters in Tucson, fielding constituent requests through whatever channels she can manage.
The official explanation from House Speaker Mike Johnson is that the ongoing partial government shutdown prevents him from administering the oath of office during pro forma sessions—those brief, largely ceremonial meetings that occur when Congress is not conducting regular business. "We have to have everybody here, and we'll swear her in," Johnson said, as cited by the Los Angeles Times. But critics have been quick to point out the inconsistency: earlier this year, Johnson swore in two Republican lawmakers from Florida during similar pro forma sessions, raising suspicions that politics, not procedure, are at play.
At the heart of the controversy is the bipartisan effort to force the release of government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker whose death and connections to powerful figures continue to spark public outrage and conspiracy theories. The push, led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, hinges on a discharge petition—a rarely used mechanism that allows a majority of House members to force a vote on stalled legislation. The petition, which would compel the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, currently has more than 200 Democratic signatures and four Republican ones, including Massie, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
But it is one signature short of the 218 needed to bring the matter to the House floor. Grijalva, for her part, has promised to be that crucial 218th signature. As she declared before her election, "On my very first day in Congress, I'll sign the bipartisan discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. This is as much about fulfilling Congress' duty as a constitutional check on this administration as it is about demanding justice for survivors." (Los Angeles Times)
This pledge has led to growing accusations that Johnson and allies of former President Donald Trump are deliberately stalling Grijalva's swearing-in to prevent the petition from moving forward. The Trump White House, as reported by PoliticusUSA, is determined to block the release of the Epstein files, and Johnson has steadfastly opposed the discharge petition, insisting that the matter is unrelated to the delay in seating Grijalva. Yet, as the Los Angeles Times wryly observes, "In the Trump era, rules and standards are applied in flagrantly different ways, depending on which political party is involved."
The tension has reached a boiling point in Arizona, where Attorney General Kris Mayes has threatened legal action against Johnson to force the seating of Grijalva. According to NPR, Mayes made it clear that the delay is unacceptable and has signaled a willingness to escalate the matter to federal court if necessary. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have taken to the House floor and even Johnson's office, staging protests and chanting, "Swear her in, swear her in," to demand immediate action. The sense of urgency is palpable, as constituents in Grijalva's district are left without representation during a time of government uncertainty.
For Grijalva, the situation is both personal and political. Reflecting on her father's legacy, she told NPR, "I think he would just be kind of laughing and scratching his head at, like, my kid is doing, you know, making a splash. Yeah." But beneath the humor lies frustration and a deep sense of responsibility. As she explained to the Los Angeles Times, "Regardless of whether I have an official office or not, constituents elected me and people are reaching out to me through every social media outlet. 'I have a question,' they tell Grijalva, or 'I'm afraid I'm going to get fired' or 'We need some sort of assistance.'" All she can do, for now, is refer them to Arizona's two U.S. senators.
House Speaker Johnson, for his part, has tried to deflect criticism by pointing to ongoing efforts within the GOP-led Oversight Committee, which he claims is working in a "bipartisan fashion, digging through and releasing documents." Yet, as Claudia Grisales of NPR notes, Democrats and some Republicans remain unconvinced, especially given the clear precedent for swearing in new members during pro forma sessions.
The discharge petition itself has become a rare point of bipartisan cooperation, with members from both parties—some of them high-profile Trump allies—breaking ranks to support transparency in the Epstein case. As Marjorie Taylor Greene put it in an interview with Axios, "Aren't we all against convicted pedophiles and anyone who enables them?" The answer, it seems, should be obvious, but the political reality is far more complicated.
As the days tick by, the pressure on Johnson continues to mount. According to PoliticusUSA, the Speaker has shown visible signs of strain when questioned about his refusal to seat Grijalva, most notably during a recent CNBC interview. The standoff has become a symbol of the broader dysfunction and hyper-partisanship that now define Capitol Hill, with both sides accusing the other of playing politics at the expense of constituents and justice.
For the people of southern Arizona, the stakes are immediate and real. Their district has been left without a voting representative in Congress for months, and the issues at hand—from government funding to the pursuit of justice in the Epstein case—are anything but abstract. As Grijalva waits for the chance to fulfill her mandate, the outcome of this impasse will likely reverberate far beyond her own district, shaping debates about transparency, accountability, and the very nature of democratic representation in the United States.
Amid the swirl of partisan maneuvering and procedural wrangling, one fact remains clear: the voters of Arizona spoke decisively, and their voice deserves to be heard in Congress. Whether or not Grijalva is finally sworn in may well determine not just the fate of the Epstein files, but also the public's faith in the legitimacy of the legislative process itself.
