Who is Adelita Grijalva and what is the controversy over her being sworn
in to Congress?
[October 10, 2025]
By MATT BROWN and KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are ramping up the pressure on House Speaker
Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona
Democrat who won a special election last month to succeed her late
father.
The delay has attracted mounting attention this week, with Johnson
challenged by lawmakers, reporters and even C-SPAN viewers about why
Grijalva hasn't been given the oath of office. Johnson has said
repeatedly that she will be sworn in when the House returns to session.
He blames the government shutdown for the delay.
Here's a look at where the situation stands:
Who is Adelita Grijalva?
She is the daughter of Rep. Raul Grijalva, a staunch progressive who
died in March. He served more than two decades in the House, rising to
chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, where he helped shape
the nation’s environmental policies.
Adelita Grijalva has been active in local politics, first serving at the
school board level and subsequently on the Pima County Board of
Supervisors, becoming just the second woman to serve as chair.
She easily won a special election Sept. 23 to serve out the remainder of
her father's term. She will represent a mostly Hispanic district in
which Democrats enjoy a nearly 2-1 voter registration advantage over
Republicans.
How Grijalva views the delay
Grijalva was gracious to her soon-to-be Democratic colleagues as they
welcomed her to the U.S. Capitol last month, even as she and her future
staff were officially considered visitors to the building.
“I think it’s great to be able to be in a room with those who will be my
colleagues, but then you very quickly realize that you are not part of
the club yet,” Grijalva said Thursday in an interview with The
Associated Press. “If I had big money to bet, I would bet that if I were
a Republican representative waiting in the wings, I would have already
been sworn in by now.”
She said she's worried about the precedent that is being set by her
delayed swearing-in.
“The bedrock of our democracy is free, fair, unobstructed elections,”
she said. “And if Speaker Johnson believes this is, as I do, then he
will quit toying with our democratic process and swear me in.”
Why the House is empty during the shutdown
Members of the House have been mostly back in their home districts since
Sept. 19. That's when Republicans passed a continuing resolution to fund
the government through Nov. 21. Johnson's decision to send lawmakers
home was intended to pressure the Senate into passing that funding
measure — a tactic that so far hasn't worked.
Johnson has yet to schedule any floor votes since then, though the House
has occasionally met in pro forma sessions, which are generally short
affairs lasting just a few minutes during which no votes are taken.
“We will swear her in when everybody gets back,” Johnson told reporters
this week.
Lawmakers who win special elections generally take the oath of office on
days in which legislative business is conducted, and they are welcomed
with warm applause from members on both sides of the aisle. They give a
short speech as family and friends watch from the galleries.
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Arizona Democratic candidate Adelita Grijalva, right, smiles as she
celebrates with her mother Ramona Grijalva after being declared the
winner against Republican Daniel Butierez to fill the Congressional
District 7 seat held by the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva in a special
election Sept. 23, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D.
Franklin, File)
Yet there is precedent for doing it differently. On April 2, Johnson
swore in Republican Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine, both of
Florida, less than 24 hours after they won their special elections,
during a pro forma session.
Johnson says the circumstances were unique because the House had
unexpectedly gone out of session that day. Patronis and Fine had
already arranged for their families, friends and supporters to be in
Washington.
“As a courtesy to them and their families, we went ahead and
administered the oath to an empty chamber. It was no fun. They
didn't get the same pomp and circumstance everybody else gets,”
Johnson said Thursday on C-SPAN when asked by a caller about
Grijalva. “We're going to administer the oath as soon as she gets
back.”
How are Democrats responding?
Democrats have little leverage to force Johnson to seat Grijalva so
long as the House is in recess. But they are keeping up the
pressure.
In an unusual scene Wednesday, Arizona's two Democratic senators —
Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego — confronted Johnson outside his office
about Grijalva's situation.
“You just keep coming up with excuses,” Gallego said to Johnson. The
speaker called it a publicity stunt.
Democrats have also taken to the floor during pro forma sessions to
try to have Grijalva sworn in. The presiding officer has ignored
them every time.
“Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva should be sworn in now. It
should have happened this week, should have happened last week. It
needs to happen next week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
told reporters Thursday.
What does her swearing-in have to do with the Epstein files?
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, defying GOP leadership,
has been gathering signatures on a petition to trigger a vote on
legislation that would force the release of federal files on Jeffrey
Epstein. And he's just one name away from succeeding.
Grijalva has said she'll sign the petition once she takes office,
providing Massie the 218 signatures needed to trigger a vote.
Democrats say Johnson is stalling on Grijalva's swearing-in, as well
as on bringing the House back to Washington, because he wants to
push off any Epstein vote.
Johnson rejected that accusation during his appearance on C-SPAN.
“This has zero to do with Epstein.”
Grijalva said she tries to not be a “conspiracy theorist” and
initially disagreed with supporters and allies who warned her that
she wouldn't be seated in Congress because of the Epstein bill.
“I thought, no way, he’s gonna swear me in. It’ll be fine,” she
said. “Here we are two weeks later.”
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