House Speaker Mike Johnson found himself backed into a corner on Tuesday over his reasoning for not swearing in a new representative.
Johnson has faced accusations that he is delaying swearing in new Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva, because she has said she will join 217 other members of the House, including some Republicans, to vote immediately to release the Epstein files. Her signature would be the final one needed to force the measure, which is opposed by Johnson and President Donald Trump.
Speaking on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Johnson said the delay had “nothing to do with” the files and everything to do with the House being in “pro forma” session due to the ongoing government shutdown.
CNN’s Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju, however, noted that a pro forma session hasn’t stood in the way of swearing in Republican lawmakers.
“Earlier this year you swore in two Republican members during a pro forma session, so why not swear in Adelita Grijalva who was elected two weeks ago?” Raju said, adding: “Does it have to do with her 218th signature on the Epstein discharge petition?”
“It has nothing to do with that at all. We will swear her in when everybody gets back,” Johnson clapped back, to which Raju quickly replied: “Why not now?”
Seemingly out of excuses, Johnson muttered: “Uh…we’ll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants.”
Grijalva, an Arizona lawmaker who was running to succeed her late father, Rep. Raul Grijalva, said she will sign a House resolution to force a vote on legislation instructing the Department of Justice to release all of its investigative files on Epstein.
Her victory cuts the Republican House majority to 219–214, and means she can deliver a decisive signature on the petition, which needs 218 votes to pass.
Speaking on MSNBC Tuesday night, Grijalva wasn’t all that confident Johnson would make good on his statements from earlier in the day.
“I’m seriously concerned with the precedent that this delay in my swearing in is setting for future races across the country,” Grijalva told Nicolle Wallace. “He can’t just ignore the will of the people.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Grijalva’s office for comment.
The people of Southern Arizona deserve representation and I’m ready to get to work. Swear me in NOW @SpeakerJohnson! https://t.co/07IsTSQCgf
— Adelita Grijalva (@AdelitaForAZ) October 6, 2025
Both Democrats and Republicans have been calling for the full release of the Epstein files. Johnson has refused to call a vote on the legislation, which Trump opposes, and even released the House a day early for its August recess to avoid any votes on the files.
In response, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna introduced a discharge petition earlier this month that would circumvent party leaders to bring the bill to the floor.
Every House Democrat has signed, along with a handful of Republican defectors. The White House has warned lawmakers that Trump views pushing for the files’ release as a “very hostile act.”
For more than a decade, Trump was friends with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
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