On October 1, 2025, a seemingly procedural act in the U.S. House of Representatives—swearing in a newly elected member—has erupted into a heated partisan battle, with national implications for transparency, congressional representation, and the ongoing controversy over the release of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At the heart of the dispute is Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona, whose delayed swearing-in has left her constituents without a voice in Congress and the House one critical signature short of forcing a vote on the Epstein files.
Grijalva, the daughter of the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, won a special election on September 23, 2025, to fill her father’s seat in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. Her victory was expected to be swiftly followed by her taking the oath of office in Washington, D.C. However, House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, declined to swear her in during a brief pro-forma session on October 1. Instead, Johnson’s office stated Grijalva would be seated when the House returns for regular business on October 7, a move they described as “standard practice,” according to The Hill.
This delay, while seemingly bureaucratic, has far-reaching consequences. The House is currently one signature short—217 of the required 218—on a discharge petition aimed at forcing a vote to release the Epstein files. The petition, championed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, would require the Justice Department to release all remaining Epstein-related documents within 30 days. Grijalva has publicly pledged to be the clinching 218th signature as soon as she is sworn in, a fact reported by Politico and echoed by multiple Democratic leaders.
The delay has prompted a wave of criticism from Democrats and outside observers. Grijalva herself stated, “Every day that Speaker Johnson delays is another day Southern Arizonans are left without a voice in Congress and without essential in-district services. With federal budget negotiations happening now, our community deserves a seat at the table—not partisan obstruction,” as quoted in a statement to Newsweek. She also noted the inconsistency in House practices, pointing out that “earlier this year, two Republicans in Florida were sworn in during pro forma sessions less than 24 hours after their elections.”
Other prominent voices have joined the chorus. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Democrat of Arizona, argued in the Washington Examiner, “This is not a coincidence. If Adelita Grijalva is sworn into Congress as she should be immediately, she would be the final signature needed to bring this to a vote for the entire House of Representatives.” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts questioned the speaker’s motives, writing that “any delay in swearing in Representative-elect Grijalva unnecessarily deprives her constituents of representation and calls into question if the motive behind the delay is to further avoid the release of the Epstein files.”
Arizona Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly also weighed in, with Gallego declaring on social media, “Mike Johnson is delaying Adelita Grijalva’s swearing-in because she’d be the 218th vote to unseal the Epstein files. The @HouseGOP is leaving Southern Arizonans without representation to protect pedophiles.” Kelly added, “Arizonans just elected @AdelitaForAZ to represent them in Washington, and there’s no reason to delay seating her. Speaker Johnson should swear in Adelita Grijalva immediately so she can get to work.”
Outside Congress, voices like Columbia University Professor Anthony Zenkus have suggested broader implications, alleging in a social media post that “it’s really about protecting JP Morgan Chase—who is complicit in [Epstein’s] crimes, and the foreign nation’s intelligence office which is behind the whole thing.” The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) also called out Speaker Johnson, stating, “The House is one vote away from forcing the release of the Epstein files, and Mike Johnson is blocking it. Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva won a race and would be the 218th signature to unseal the records.”
Republican leaders, however, have pushed back against claims of political motivation. Speaker Johnson’s office insists they are waiting for the “appropriate paperwork” to complete the process, as reported by MSNBC’s Maddow Blog. Rep. Morgan Griffith, Republican of Virginia, who presided over the pro-forma session, defended the decision by citing historical precedent: “Historically, you do it when the House is in session other than pro forma,” The Hill reported. They also argue that the bill behind the petition does not adequately protect victims and point out that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is already investigating the matter.
Yet Democrats counter that such documentation “has been sufficient to swear in multiple members of Congress” in the past, and note that a government shutdown would not prevent a swearing-in—the full House took the oath at the start of the 2019 Congress during a shutdown, according to The Hill.
The controversy over the Epstein files is not new. Earlier this year, the Trump administration faced backlash after the Department of Justice announced it would not release additional records, despite earlier promises. President Trump, who once expressed support for releasing the files, now dismisses the issue as a “Democrat hoax,” fueling further divisions within his own party and among conservative influencers, as detailed by Newsweek and Benzinga. The House Oversight Committee did release 33,295 pages of documents in September, but many lawmakers and activists argue that more transparency is needed.
The discharge petition at the center of the current standoff was filed by Massie and Khanna and is designed to bypass committee delays and bring the Epstein files bill directly to the floor. With Grijalva’s seat filled, the Republican majority in the House stands at 219 to 214, making every vote—and every procedural delay—potentially pivotal. While the delay in swearing in Grijalva does not affect the current vote math on spending bills, it does mean her constituents remain without representation or access to federal services during a critical period of budget negotiations.
Media figures and advocates for transparency, like Cenk Uygur, have called the GOP’s actions “corruption” and accused them of blocking the swearing-in purely to prevent the release of the Epstein files. Uygur stated that this type of political maneuvering and lack of transparency had been previously overlooked by the media, but is now gaining attention.
As the House prepares to return to regular session on October 7, all eyes are on whether Grijalva will finally be sworn in and if her signature will be the one to force a historic vote on the Epstein files. For now, the delay has become a flashpoint in the nation’s ongoing struggle over transparency, accountability, and the fundamental right of constituents to be represented in Congress.
The outcome of this standoff will shape not only the fate of the Epstein files but also public confidence in the integrity of the nation’s legislative process.
