For over a month, more than 800,000 residents of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District have watched as their voice in the U.S. House of Representatives remains silenced. The reason? A standoff in Washington that has left Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva—who won a resounding special election victory on September 23, 2025—unable to take her seat. This extraordinary delay has triggered a federal lawsuit, inflamed partisan tensions, and left constituents with no direct advocate in Congress, all while the country grapples with one of the longest government shutdowns in recent memory.
Adelita Grijalva’s path to Congress seemed straightforward at first. After the death of her father, longtime Representative Raúl Grijalva, in March, Arizona’s 7th District prepared for a special election. On September 23, Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, secured nearly 69% of the vote, a decisive mandate from a district that hugs the Mexico border and includes parts of Tucson and Phoenix. The election was certified by Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on October 14, 2025, clearing every legal and constitutional hurdle in her way. Yet, as The Arizona Republic and The Monitor both report, her journey stopped cold at the doors of the House of Representatives.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has refused to swear in Grijalva, citing the ongoing government shutdown and insisting that the House can only seat new members once it returns to a “regular legislative session.” Johnson sent the House home on September 19, after passing a short-term funding measure, and has since extended what was initially intended as a brief recess. The government shutdown, which began October 1, has now stretched into its second-longest duration in U.S. history, with neither side showing signs of backing down.
The impasse has led to mounting frustration in Arizona and beyond. On October 21, 2025, Grijalva and the State of Arizona filed a federal lawsuit against the House of Representatives, Speaker Johnson, House Clerk Kevin McCumber, and Sergeant at Arms William McFarland. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, spearheaded the suit, arguing that Johnson’s refusal to seat Grijalva violates both constitutional principles and the landmark 1969 Supreme Court case Powell v. McCormack. That decision held that the House may not exclude a duly elected member who meets all constitutional qualifications—a precedent that, according to legal experts quoted by The Monitor, appears directly relevant to Grijalva’s case.
“We’re going to court because this is an abuse of power that strikes at the foundation of our democracy and would set a dangerous precedent for the future,” Grijalva’s staff told The Monitor in an emailed statement. Grijalva herself, speaking to KGUN in Tucson, called the Speaker’s actions “very anti-Democratic” and warned, “It really highlights an abuse of a system that needs more clarity to ensure that other people are not in this situation ever again.”
At the heart of the controversy lies not only the question of procedure, but also the raw politics of a narrowly divided House. Republicans currently hold just a six-seat majority, with 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats. Every seat—and every vote—matters. The situation is especially fraught because Grijalva has publicly pledged to be the 218th and decisive signature on a bipartisan discharge petition to force a House vote on releasing Department of Justice files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Before Grijalva’s victory, 217 signatures had been secured; her addition would meet the threshold required to bring the matter to the floor, a move strongly opposed by most House Republicans.
Democrats have accused Johnson of stalling Grijalva’s swearing-in to prevent her from tipping the balance on the Epstein files. Johnson, for his part, has repeatedly denied any such motivation. “It has nothing to do with that at all,” he said at an October 7 press conference, as reported by The Monitor. Instead, Johnson has insisted that the delay is a matter of procedure, pointing to what he calls the “Pelosi precedent”—a reference to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to swear in some newly elected Republicans only after the House returned to a full session. Yet, Democrats note that as recently as April 2025, Johnson himself swore in two Republican congressmen from Florida during a pro forma session, just 24 hours after their victories.
The consequences of the impasse have been immediate and deeply felt in Arizona’s 7th District. After her father’s passing, the office for the district remained open under House Clerk supervision, as per House rules. But following Grijalva’s election, the office was closed, leaving constituents without direct contact or advocacy in Washington. “You’re gonna pick up the phone and dial a number, and there’s not going to be anyone on the other end to answer,” said Steven Smith, a professor of political science at Arizona State University, speaking to The Monitor. “You don’t have someone sitting in hearings, asking questions of administration officials about issues that involve your district. You’re simply unrepresented in so many aspects of congressional activity.”
Grijalva herself has stressed the real-world impact of the delay. “The delay does not allow me to open district offices in Southern Arizona, have a budget, or train for my new role,” she told KGUN. The shutdown, she added, has been especially hard on federal workers in her district: “58 thousand people are not going to get a check. That is very scary especially when every family that I know is living paycheck to paycheck.”
Some constituents, like Louisa Miranda, have voiced their frustration directly: “We don’t get any representation because they’re holding back on everything for us. Because she’s a Democrat, they don’t want to swear her in.” Meanwhile, local Republican leaders have offered a different perspective. Kathleen Winn, chair of the Pima County Republicans, told KGUN that Republicans have voted to reopen the government and encouraged Grijalva to focus on constituent issues during the shutdown. “We want Adelina Grijalva to succeed for all the people in CD7,” Winn said, suggesting that Grijalva should work with Arizona’s senators to help end the shutdown.
The standoff has also exposed broader concerns about precedent and democratic norms. Editorials in the New York Daily News and other outlets have argued that the Speaker’s refusal to swear in a duly elected member is a violation of both the Constitution and basic democratic principles. They point to Powell v. McCormack as clear legal authority and warn that allowing such delays could undermine the will of voters across the country.
As the shutdown drags on—Senate Democrats blocked a funding bill for the twelfth time on October 22, according to KGUN—the situation remains unresolved. The courts may yet have to decide whether House leadership can simply choose to exclude a qualified, elected member. For now, the people of Arizona’s 7th District remain without a representative, caught in the crossfire of national politics and procedural brinkmanship.
The outcome of this legal and political battle could reverberate far beyond Arizona, shaping the rules of congressional engagement and the rights of voters for years to come.
