House Speaker Mike Johnson breaks promise to swear in Rep.-elect Grijalva next week

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reneged on a commitment to swear in Arizona’s newest Congresswoman, Adelita Grijalva, next week.

Johnson designated Oct. 7 to Oct. 13 as a district work period, which allows members of Congress to return to their home states. That means the House would not be in session to hold a swearing-in ceremony for Grijalva, who won a landslide victory last month to succeed her late father Raúl Grijalva in Arizona’s Congressional District 7.

The announcement comes a day after Johnson told CBS mornings he would swear in Grijalva “immediately early next week as soon as everyone returns to town.”

Politics

Rep.-elect Grijalva says she's heard 'absolutely nothing' from the House about her swearing in

Mark Brodie

Tuesday will mark two weeks since Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva's victory, and there are still questions about when she’ll actually be sworn in and officially take office.

Listen • 6:57

On social media, Grijalva criticized Johnson for the decision.

“Still playing games with my swearing in date? The people of Southern Arizona deserve a voice in Congress NOW,” she wrote. “What are Republicans so afraid of? One more vote for accountability?”

In the days since Grijalva’s electoral victory, some Democrats have accused Johnson of delaying the swearing-in to prevent the release of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers in the House are currently one short of the 218 petition signatures they need to sidestep Johnson and force a vote to release the files, and Grijalva has pledged to back that effort.

Johnson’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.