Arizona’s two Democratic senators confronted Republican Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday over his refusal to swear in Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, a day after he offered to do so “as soon as she wants” and then immediately backtracked.
“Stop covering up for the pedophiles,” Sen. Ruben Gallego told the speaker during the nearly 6-minute clash, referring to the fact that Grijalva will provide the final signature needed to force a House vote on releasing files about Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier.
Epstein was a convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019 awaiting federal trial on charges of trafficking young women and girls for sex.
Johnson called that accusation “totally absurd” and blamed Senate Democrats themselves for the delay.
“I’m anxious to administer the oath to her, as soon as you guys vote to open the government,” he said.
As @SenMarkKelly and @RubenGallego slam Speaker Mike Johnson for 1) having the House on recess during a shutdown and 2) not swearing in Adelita Grijalva, Johnson comes out of his office and a debate starts 👀 pic.twitter.com/4uOO7HAlHX
— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) October 8, 2025
Tuesday marked two full weeks since the Tucson Democrat won her late father Raúl Grijalva’s seat in a landslide.
With an audience of journalists on hand, Gallego and Sen. Mark Kelly needled the speaker over the prolonged delay in seating their fellow Arizonan.
“It’s not great if you want representation,” Kelly told the speaker, who insisted that “we’re happy she got elected. She’s filling her father’s seat. That’s fantastic.”
“We’re going to do that as soon as we get back to work, but we need the lights turned back on, so we encourage both of you to go open the government,” Johnson said.
Grijalva was on the House floor on Sept. 30 – one week after her election – hoping to be sworn in. The Republican presiding over the chamber ended the pro forma session in just under three minutes, ignoring Democrats’ chants of “Swear her in!”
“He is holding my swearing-in hostage to what happens in the Senate,” Grijalva told Cronkite News by phone from Tucson. “Apparently, our democracy right now hinges on whether Speaker Johnson agrees with you politically or not.”
By law, only the speaker can administer the oath of office to House members. Most take that oath as a group when a new Congress convenes every two years. Those elected in special elections, like Grijalva, are sworn in individually.
Earlier this year, Johnson swore in two Florida Republicans within 24 hours of their victories in special elections, also during pro forma sessions, in which no substantive business is conducted.
Kelly and Gallego were speaking with reporters outside the speakers office, talking about the shutdown and healthcare costs, when Johnson emerged and the squabbling began.
The senators demanded to know why he didn’t offer the same courtesy to Grijalva as he had with the Floridians. The speaker said it was because “they had all their family and friends here” and “that was the exception.”
He also insisted that “this has nothing to do with Epstein,” calling the senators’ news conference outside his office “a publicity stunt.”
President Donald Trump campaigned last year on a promise to make all of Epstein records public but has since reneged.
A petition effort led by a Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, is one signature short of the 218 needed to force a floor vote on releasing the complete files.
Grijalva intends to sign. But she can’t do so until Johnson swears her in. Nor can she move into her father’s old office, hire staff or provide constituent services. She can’t cast votes, either, though the House hasn’t been in full session for votes since it passed a stopgap spending bill on Sept. 19.
Grijalva said she’s angry and increasingly frustrated at Johnson, especially after he dangled the possibility of a quick swearing-in on Tuesday when asked about the delay by a CNN reporter.
“Everyone got excited and said, ‘Oh great, it’s going to happen,’ and then shortly thereafter, it didn’t,” she said.
Her father died in March. She said the vacancy is especially problematic during the shutdown. Her district, which spans most of the state’s border with Mexico, has more than 10,000 federal civilian employees who are either furloughed or working without pay during the shutdown.
“I just want Speaker Johnson to let me get to work,” she said.
Kelly also urged Johnson to bring House Republicans back to Washington to negotiate an end to the shutdown.
The speaker rejected the idea.
“Let me tell you why they’re not here: Because the House did its job,” he said.
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
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