In the weeks following a decisive special election in Arizona’s Seventh Congressional District, a political standoff has erupted on Capitol Hill, leaving more than 800,000 Arizonans without a voice in Congress. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat from Tucson, won the September 23, 2025, election with nearly 70% of the vote, filling the seat left vacant by her late father, longtime Representative Raul Grijalva. Yet, as of October 15, she still has not been sworn in, despite all legal hurdles having been cleared and mounting pressure from state and national Democratic leaders.
The impasse centers on U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, who has refused to seat Grijalva, citing the ongoing federal government shutdown and the House’s recess as reasons for the delay. According to Deseret News, Johnson stated, “As I have said repeatedly, the House will follow customary practice by swearing in Rep-elect Grijalva when the House is in legislative session.” The House has not met in session since September 19, four days before Grijalva’s election, and the shutdown began on October 1.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has taken a hard line against Johnson’s refusal to act, sending a sharply worded letter on October 14 that threatened legal action if Grijalva is not seated immediately. “With the House in possession of the certificate of election, it is now a simple ministerial duty to administer the oath of office,” Mayes wrote, as quoted by Common Dreams and Deseret News. “The House and its leadership have acted (beyond your authority) and in violation of the Constitution.” She further accused Johnson and his staff of providing “ever-shifting, unsatisfactory, and sometimes absurd stories as to why Ms. Grijalva has not been sworn in.”
The Arizona Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, finalized the election results and transmitted the official certificate to the House on October 14. Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, also added her voice, transmitting the certificate and reiterating the state’s expectation that Grijalva would be sworn in promptly, just as “five previous members elected in special elections” had been, according to Mayes. Those members, including Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and Vince Fong (R-Calif.), were sworn in within 24 hours of their elections, sometimes even during pro forma sessions—brief meetings without legislative business—earlier in the year.
Despite these precedents, Johnson has maintained that the House must be in full session to administer the oath, denying that the delay is politically motivated. However, Democrats have pointed out that the House has held three pro forma sessions since Grijalva’s victory and that similar circumstances did not prevent other newly elected members from being seated swiftly. Grijalva herself remarked, “I mean, if that’s all it takes, my family can be here. I can get them here.”
Behind the procedural wrangling lies a deeper political battle. Congressional Democrats and other critics have accused Johnson of stalling to prevent Grijalva from becoming the 218th and decisive signature on a discharge petition to force a House vote on releasing the Department of Justice’s investigative files concerning Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender with well-documented ties to former President Donald Trump. According to Arizona Mirror, Grijalva’s swearing-in would “force a vote on releasing the Epstein files,” a move Republicans have so far blocked. Johnson, for his part, has denied any connection between the delay and the Epstein files, insisting that the only barrier is the House’s recess and the government shutdown.
The Epstein controversy has added fuel to an already heated partisan dispute. Democrats have seized on the issue, highlighting Trump’s past association with Epstein—including documented appearances at parties and flights on Epstein’s private jet—and a recently published lewd birthday card allegedly sent by Trump to Epstein. While Trump and his allies have dismissed the card as a “hoax,” Democrats argue that Republican leaders are trying to “bury details about the yearslong relationship between the president and Epstein.” Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) made headlines when he stated on MSNBC, “Speaker Mike Johnson is protecting pedophiles.”
Meanwhile, Grijalva has not been idle. She has traveled to Washington, D.C., multiple times to meet with House Democrats and push for an end to the government shutdown. Yet, her office on Capitol Hill remains in limbo—she has received keys but lacks internet access, working phones, or the ability to hire staff. “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,” Grijalva said in a statement. “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.”
Attorney General Mayes has underscored the constitutional stakes. “Arizona’s right to a full delegation, and the right of the residents of CD 7 to representation from the person they recently voted for, are not up for debate and may not be delayed or used as leverage in negotiations about unrelated legislation,” she wrote. She further reminded Johnson that “no one questions Ms. Grijalva’s election or its returns, or raises an issue of her qualifications. The House is without authority to refuse her oath and admission.”
Grijalva’s supporters in Arizona have rallied behind her, with the congresswoman-elect thanking Mayes, Hobbs, and Fontes “for standing up for the voices of 800,000+ Arizonans who currently do not have representation in Congress.” Her background includes service on the Tucson Unified School District Board, where she advocated for bilingual education, and on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, championing environmental protections—following in her late father’s footsteps.
As the standoff enters its fourth week, the pressure continues to mount. Mayes has given Johnson two days from October 14 to provide a clear assurance of when and where Grijalva’s swearing-in will take place, or she will “seek judicial relief.” With the government shutdown dragging on and the House still out of session, the fate of Arizona’s representation—and the contentious Epstein files vote—hangs in the balance.
For now, the people of Arizona’s Seventh Congressional District remain without a voice in the House, their newly elected representative caught in a tug-of-war that is as much about the balance of power in Congress as it is about the right to representation.
