Democrat Promises Confrontation With Mike Johnson at Delayed Swearing In

Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that she plans to confront Speaker Mike Johnson at her swearing-in on Wednesday.

Democrats have been demanding Grijalva, 55, be sworn-in as soon as possible, in a bitter clash with Speaker Mike Johnson.

She has also promised to be the key vote forcing movement in the Jeffrey Epstein files, which the administration appears to be slow-walking, sparking concerns that the delay is connected to the Epstein saga.

Johnson's — Grijalva has previously said that Johnson’s obstruction “has gone far beyond petty partisan politics – it’s an unlawful breach of our Constitution and the democratic process.” Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

“I won’t be able to move on if I don’t address it personally, and we’ll see what kind of reaction he has,” Grijalva, a Democrat who was elected to represent Arizona’s 7th in September but who was not sworn in for seven weeks due to the government shutdown, told Collins.

She told Collins that she wasn’t “exactly sure” what she was going to say to Johnson, who refused to swear her in during the shutdown, but that his behavior was “undemocratic, unconstitutional, and illegal.”

“This kind of obstruction cannot happen again,” Grijalva told Collins.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit last month in an attempt to force Johnson to swear Grijalva. Johnson maintained that he was “following the Pelosi precedent,” referencing former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to abstain from swearing in representatives elected in special elections until Congress was back in session.

Grijalva, who is succeeding her father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, will take her oath of office on Wednesday before the House votes on the funding bill required to end the government shutdown.

Grijalva’s election should also mean that the petition introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie to force a vote on the release of new DOJ files on convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein will likely have enough votes to pass, triggering a floor vote in the House.

In a fiery letter sent on Monday, Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark suggested the looming Epstein vote was the reason for the delay. “Any delay in swearing in Representative-elect Grijalva unnecessarily deprives her constituents of representation and calls into question if the motive behind the delay is to further avoid the release of the Epstein files,” Clark wrote.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also condemned the delay, telling reporters, “It’s unbelievable that for seven-plus weeks Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva has been denied the ability to serve more than 800,000 people in Arizona because Republicans are running a pedophile protection program.”

Johnson refuted any claims that Grijalva’s swearing-in was delayed because of the Epstein effect.

He added that the petition was a “moot point” since the House Oversight Committee is currently conducting its own probe into the Epstein files.

In a video posted to Instagram late on Tuesday, Grijalva shared that she was about to board a red eye to fly to D.C. for her swearing-in. “We’ve been waiting 50 days for this moment to happen, and I’m just really emotional, I have to say.”

“I’m also really frustrated and upset, and frankly pissed, that my first vote is going to be one that does nothing to make healthcare more affordable for you.”

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