In a dramatic turn on Capitol Hill, the swearing-in of Arizona’s newest congresswoman, Adelita Grijalva, has become the epicenter of a political and legal showdown with national implications. As the federal government teeters on the edge of a shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republican leadership are refusing to seat Grijalva, a move Democrats allege is designed to block the release of long-sought investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex abuse case.
Grijalva, who won the special election for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District by a landslide on September 23, 2025, is poised to make history as the first Latina and Chicana from the state to serve in Congress. She succeeds her father, the late Raul Grijalva, a stalwart of progressive politics who died of cancer in March after more than 50 years of public service. Yet, just as she prepared to take her oath, Grijalva found herself at the center of a partisan standoff that has left southern Arizona without representation at a critical juncture.
“It is Day Two in Washington, D.C. Speaker Johnson has left the building, and, unfortunately, what that means is southern Arizona does not have a voice here,” Grijalva lamented in a video posted to social media. She urged her constituents to “reach out to Speaker Johnson. Let him know I need to be sworn in.” According to CALÓ News, Grijalva’s absence means that her district—spanning parts of metro Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and Nogales—has no advocate during a looming government shutdown and crucial funding negotiations.
The timing of Grijalva’s swearing-in is far from a mere procedural detail. At stake is a discharge petition in the House, which, with one more signature, would force a floor vote on releasing the Epstein files—documents that could reveal the identities of high-profile individuals implicated by victims of the late financier. Grijalva has publicly pledged to be the 218th signature, a move that would tip the balance and potentially unleash a torrent of revelations. “The fact that southern Arizona is being treated differently raises serious questions about political motivations—especially since I have pledged to become the 218th signature on the discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein files,” she declared in a Tuesday announcement.
The discharge petition itself has been years in the making, attracting every House Democrat and four Republicans: Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert. According to The Hill, the petition demands that the Justice Department publicly post all records related to its investigations of both Epstein, who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019, and Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking crimes. Massie, a persistent critic of former President Donald Trump, has accused some in his own party of “protecting pedophiles” to avoid embarrassing revelations about wealthy Republican donors.
Grijalva’s supporters are quick to point out the apparent double standard in how her case is being handled. Earlier this year, two Florida Republicans—Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine—were sworn in during pro forma sessions just 24 hours after winning their special elections. The same courtesy was extended to Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia. Yet, Grijalva has been told she must wait until the House returns to regular session, now pushed to mid-October. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) said on Tuesday that this delay was “customary,” but House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) countered in a letter to Johnson that “common practice in the House of Representatives requires that Representatives-elect in special elections in which results are not in doubt be sworn in at the earliest opportunity.”
Democratic leaders see something more nefarious at play. U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) did not mince words, stating, “House Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to listen to the will of Arizonans and seat a newly elected member of Congress, all to help abusers avoid accountability when it comes to the Epstein files.” She further accused Johnson and Republican leadership of “blocking her swearing in and rejecting the will of Arizona voters, all to assist in the Trump administration’s cover-up of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuses.”
Meanwhile, the House’s absence from Washington has created a constitutional bottleneck, virtually guaranteeing a government shutdown as the fiscal year ends. Johnson has defended his decision to keep members in their districts, insisting the House had already “completed its work” by passing a funding resolution. Yet, the Senate rejected the House’s bill, with Democrats demanding additional healthcare provisions that Republicans refused to include. The standoff has left the government without funding and millions of Americans wondering what comes next.
Grijalva, for her part, is frustrated but undeterred. “There’s no reason why I couldn’t have been sworn in, and it’s very problematic, because we’re facing a government shutdown. We’re going to have constituents who have questions, and there is nobody there to answer questions,” she told The Hill. Asked whether she had received any information from Johnson’s office about a timeline for her swearing-in, she replied, “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Behind the scenes, the stakes are even higher. According to sources cited by Politico, top GOP leaders and White House allies are working to persuade some of the Republican signatories to withdraw their support from the discharge petition. So far, key figures like Boebert have stood firm, refusing to remove their names. The House Rules Committee, which in the past has helped leadership kill discharge petitions, has indicated it will not intervene this time. If Grijalva is finally sworn in and adds her signature, supporters will need to wait several legislative days before bringing the discharge motion to the floor, likely setting up a vote during the week of October 20.
For southern Arizona, the delay is more than a procedural inconvenience. “Every day that I am here without being sworn in, southern Arizona loses,” Grijalva said on X, echoing the frustration of her constituents. Her election, with nearly 70% of the vote, sent a clear message about the district’s priorities, only to be met with what many see as calculated obstruction.
As the government grinds to a halt and the Epstein files remain locked away, the battle over Grijalva’s swearing-in has become a flashpoint for larger debates about transparency, accountability, and the proper functioning of American democracy. Whether the coming weeks bring resolution or only more gridlock, one thing is certain: the eyes of the nation are watching, and the stakes could not be higher.
