Speaker Mike Johnson plans to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona as a member of Congress on Wednesday, according to his office, 50 days after her election, as the House returns from an extended recess.
Ms. Grijalva, a Democrat, won a special election on Sept. 23 for the Arizona seat left vacant by the death of her father, Representative Raúl Grijalva. Mr. Johnson had since refused to seat her, despite several opportunities to do so, public pleas, a Democratic pressure campaign and, eventually, a federal lawsuit brought by Ms. Grijalva and the attorney general of Arizona that argued that Mr. Johnson had no authority to continue to stall.
The delay prevented Ms. Grijalva from freely entering and moving about the Capitol complex, or having access to the budget or the materials she needed to do her job. As recently as Tuesday afternoon, she told NPR that she had not heard directly from Mr. Johnson’s office about the swearing-in and that she was “90 percent” confident it would happen at last. She said on social media on Monday that she was traveling to Washington after hearing from news reports and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, that she could soon be seated.
“For seven weeks, 813,000 Arizonans have been denied a voice and access to basic constituent services,” Ms. Grijalva said. “This is an abuse of power that no Speaker should have.”
For weeks, Mr. Johnson had justified his refusal by saying he could not and would not seat Ms. Grijalva while the House was out of session. There is no such rule in the chamber that would block the swearing-in of a duly elected member of Congress. Though Mr. Johnson had so far kept the House out of session, the chamber can operate even in the event of a government shutdown, and he swore in two Florida Republicans who won special elections earlier this year while the House was in recess.
As a member of Congress, Ms. Grijalva would narrow the slim majority that Republicans hold in the House. She has also vowed to provide the last necessary signature on a bipartisan petition that would force a floor vote on a measure demanding the Justice Department release its files on the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democratic lawmakers have seized on Ms. Grijalva’s pledge in trying to shame Mr. Johnson into abiding by his duty to swear her in.
Mr. Johnson has claimed his refusal to seat Ms. Grijalva had nothing to do with avoiding the floor vote. Democrats, including Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, insisted he was “covering up for pedophiles.”
Anushka Patil is a Times reporter covering breaking and developing news around the world.
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