PHOENIX – U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva said Thursday she hopes Speaker Mike Johnson swears her into office without court intervention so she can get to work on the issues her late father championed in Congress.
The southern Arizona Democrat told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News that the lawsuit against Johnson filed by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on her behalf last month has been assigned to a judge.
“We’re just waiting out the process,” Grijalva said. “I believe that she (Mayes) is holding onto the opportunity to request for a more expedited verdict in the hopes that Speaker Johnson actually does his job and swears me in.”
How long has Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva waited to be seated?
Thursday was the 44th day since voters in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District (CD7) overwhelmingly selected Grijalva to fill Raúl Grijalva’s former seat in a Sept. 23 special election.
Her delay is the longest in modern-day history, surpassing the previous mark of 35 days for California Democrat Jimmy Gomez after his June 2017 special election victory.
In Grijalva’s case, Johnson initially said he was waiting for the results of her landslide victory to be officially canvassed on Oct. 14 to seat her. He later said he won’t swear Grijalva in while the House is out of session during the government shutdown, which started Oct. 1.
The Arizona CD7 seat has been vacant since March 13, when Raúl Grijalva died at age 77 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Adelita Grijalva calls Republicans ‘extremists’
Once seated, Adelita Grijalva said she plans to continue her father’s work on progressive issues such as the environment, education and protecting citizens’ rights.
However, she noted that the situation she’ll enter will be vastly different than what her father encountered when he first entered the House in 2003.
“When he walked into Congress 22 years ago, there wasn’t the kind of division, the kind of overreach that this administration has flexed to the nation, and we have to push back against that,” she said.
While Grijalva said she is willing to work with Republicans on legislation that benefits the residents of southern Arizona, she isn’t sure the feeling is mutual.
“Right now, the Republicans are … a party of a lot of extremists, and it’s really difficult to negotiate with extremists, if not impossible. And so, I’m very optimistic that at the midterm there’s going to be a shift and there will be a willingness to work together,” she said.
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