Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a lawsuit that seeks to get Democrat Adelita Grijalva sworn in as the state’s newest member of Congress after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to seat her a month since winning the post.
Here's a look back at what led to the lawsuit.
Timeline: Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva still waiting to be sworn in
March 13: Twelve-term Rep. Raúl Grijalva dies at age 77 after a battle with cancer. Adelita Grijalva launches her bid to succeed her father two weeks later. She sails through the July 15 Democratic primary.
Sept. 19: The House approves a stopgap plan to avert a government shutdown. The speaker then dismisses the House except for occasional pro forma sessions at which no business is conducted.
Sept. 23: Adelita Grijalva wins the special election with nearly 70% of the vote.
Sept. 30: Grijalva, now a representative-elect, appears on the House floor during a pro forma session hoping to take the oath of office. Republicans adjourn in less than three minutes despite chants of “Swear her in!” from Democrats.
Oct. 1: Government shutdown begins. It would become the second longest in U.S. history after a 35-day impasse in 2018 and 2019.
Oct. 6: House Speaker Mike Johnson rejects criticism that he is treating Grijalva differently from two Florida Republicans he swore in during pro forma sessions. He made a “unique exception” because their ceremonies were scheduled during full sessions that were cut short unexpectedly, he says.
Oct. 7: Johnson tells reporters he’s willing to swear in Grijalva “as soon as she wants,” though he and aides quickly walk that back, reiterating his condition that Democrats must first approve the GOP plan to end the shutdown.
Oct. 8: Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly engage in a heated exchange with Johnson outside his office. Gallego accuses him of delaying the swearing-in because Grijalva will sign a petition forcing a vote to release the Epstein files. “Stop covering up for the pedophiles,” Gallego says. Calling that “totally absurd,” Johnson blames the Grijalva delay on them and their fellow Senate Democrats.
Oct. 14: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes threatens legal action if Johnson doesn’t swear in Grijalva “without further delay.” She gives him three days to comply. That same day, she, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes certify the Sept. 23 special election.
Oct. 15: Grijalva appears with Arizona’s senators and other allies at the Capitol to condemn the ongoing delay. “Is it because she’s a Democratic Latina?” said a leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Oct. 16: Johnson defends the delay by citing what he calls the “Pelosi precedent.” Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., waited 25 days to be sworn in after a March 2021 special election. Letlow replaced her husband, who had died of COVID-19 before taking office.
In the lawsuit, Mayes notes that Speaker Nancy Pelosi consulted with Letlow and they picked a date the incoming lawmaker requested.
Oct. 17: The deadline Mayes set passes without a swearing-in or legal action against the speaker. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sends Johnson an open letter demanding he relent.
Oct. 18: Day 25 since Grijalva’s election, matching the pandemic-era delay for Letlow.
Oct. 21: Grijalva’s second attempt to be sworn in during a pro forma session fails.
“While we’re getting a lot of attention for not being sworn in, I’d rather get the attention for doing my job,” she told reporters moments later.
Johnson spoke to reporters beforehand.
“We are not in legislative session,” he said. “The chronology is important. Rep. Grijalva won her race … after we had already gone out of session. So I will administer the oath to her, I hope, on the first day we come back (into) legislative session. I’m willing and anxious to do that.”
Later that afternoon, Mayes announced the lawsuit.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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