House Speaker Mike Johnson is not only dragging out Democratic Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva’s long awaited swearing-in ceremony—he’s also treating it as entertainment value.
Republican leadership has refused to swear in Grijalva until Congress returns to its regular session, despite the fact the party swore in a pair of Florida Republicans during a pro forma session just earlier this year.
Johnson brushed off concern about the ongoing delays during an interview with CNBC Thursday, accusing Arizona’s elected officials of simply seeking attention as they fight to instate Grijalva and obtain constitutionally required representation for the Grand Canyon state’s 7th congressional district.
“I’m shocked that another Democrat politician from Arizona is seeking publicity right now,” Johnson snarked to CNBC. “Now the state [attorney general] is involved and she’s going to sue me.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes warned Johnson Tuesday that he was leaving her with “no other choice” than to take him to court for refusing to swear in Grijalva.
“It’s all a farce,” Johnson continued. “Let me tell you what’s happening here. Rep-elect Grijalva was elected after the House went out of session. So I have said this repeatedly: I am delighted to administer the oath to her, as soon as we get back to legislative session.”
The Louisiana Republican then attempted to extort Grijalva’s seat, claiming that the representative-elect could assume her duty as soon as Arizona’s two Democratic senators vote to reopen the government.
“If [Senators Ruben] Gallegos and [Mark] Kelly would vote to reopen the government, we’ll get this thing done quickly,” Johnson said, mispronouncing Gallego’s name.
Grijalva became the first Latina that Arizona has sent to Congress when she won an election to determine the replacement for her late father, Raul Grijalva. She’s also the last signature that the House needs on a petition to force a vote on releasing government documents related to the investigation of deceased pedophilic sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Grijalva’s swearing-in appears to be background noise for Republican House leadership, which is floundering to muster solutions to a gridlock over continuous funding for Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget and its seismic cuts to Obamacare subsidies and Medicaid.
But there’s plenty of precedent for Grijalva to be sworn in even in such complicated circumstances. For instance, the entire House was sworn in during a shutdown in 2019, during Trump’s first term.
Grijalva has already vowed to sign the bipartisan petition advancing the immediate release of the Epstein files. Just four Republicans have penned their signatures on the petition, demanding more transparency from the Trump administration regarding the investigation into Epstein and his potential associates. Those conservative lawmakers include Representatives Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert.
The post Mike Johnson Says Dem He Refuses to Swear In Just Wants Attention appeared first on New Republic.
