The Arizona attorney general filed a lawsuit against Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday for failing to swear in Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.
The lawsuit from Attorney General Kris Mayes comes as House Democrats attempted for the fifth time to ask for recognition during a pro-forma session of the House to swear in Grijalva, as the chamber remains in recess during the government shutdown. Each time, the Republican presiding speaker has adjourned the House without recognizing the Democrats, much to the vocal dismay of the party.
Democratic leadership has blasted Johnson for refusing to swear in Grijalva, accusing him of avoiding it to prevent a vote on a discharge petition to release all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the speaker has repeatedly disputed this narrative, arguing that it concerns recess and scheduling only.
Grijalva said she has access to a laptop and work phone, and has received keys to her office, which is the office of her father, Raul, who died earlier this year.
But she said that because she is not a member, she does not have access to certain databases or a budget, so she cannot open a district office or offer services to her constituents. She quipped that she’s going “back and forth” between Washington and Arizona on her own miles that she has “stored up.”
“I keep saying, it’s like having access to a car that doesn’t have an engine, tires, or gas, or like someone asks you to make dinner and you open the fridge, and nothing,” Grijalva said. “And then you’re like, ‘Hey, the gas got turned off.’ That’s how it feels.”
Tuesday marks 28 days since her special election, and since then, Democrats have urged Johnson to swear her in. Her addition to the Democratic caucus will not change the House margins.
Grijalva once again pointed to the oaths of office distributed to Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL) and Jimmy Patronis (R-FL), one day after they won their special elections, during a press conference on Tuesday with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
“While we’re getting a lot of attention for not being sworn in, I’d rather get the attention for doing my job, and I can’t do that right now without being sworn in. …It’s not unheard of for this speaker to do that,” she said of Johnson’s recess swearing-in ceremonies.
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The discharge petition to release all the Epstein files is ready to be brought to the floor once Grijalva is sworn in and the government shutdown ends, and it doesn’t appear it’ll get much pushback from leadership.
House leaders have argued for months against the Epstein files discharge petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), saying it’s unnecessary due to the Oversight Committee’s investigation.
But Johnson said on Tuesday that “we’re not” blocking it in the Rules Committee, noting that “if it hits 218, it comes to the floor.” But he said it’s “totally superfluous.”
“All this work’s been done and will continue to be done,” the speaker noted.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer previously told the Washington Examiner that he won’t whip, or push, Republicans to vote against Massie and Khanna’s bill, as leadership doesn’t normally whip against privileged motions. Despite the controversial nature of the legislation, the Epstein bill won’t be an exception.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a non-issue. Whatever will be, will be,” Emmer said.
Leadership’s decision to take a backseat approach to the discharge petition is a significant turnaround from leaders’ responses to contentious petitions.
House Republicans, mostly leadership, have long viewed discharge petitions as “tools of the minority.” But rank-and-file members like Massie and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) have used them to force votes on bills leadership doesn’t approve of to change House rules.
To avoid a vote on Luna’s petition to install proxy voting, or remote voting, for new parents, Johnson struck a deal with the Florida congresswoman in April to introduce “vote pairing.”
This came just a few days after Johnson experienced his first failed rule vote in the 119th Congress, when nine Republicans joined all Democrats to vote against a measure that could kill Luna’s ability to bring the bill forward.
An unrelated rule almost failed a week prior to that, after a select group of Freedom Caucus members threatened to hold up floor proceedings if leadership allowed Luna’s petition to come to the floor. The “backroom deals” pushed Luna to leave the conservative, right-flank caucus.
However, Massie would likely not accept a deal to get him to suspend his petition, particularly as it has bipartisan support. The Kentucky Republican has been vocal about the file’s release — even as President Donald Trump has called on someone to primary him.
House Democrats are eager to see Grijalva sworn in to make her the 218th signature on the discharge petition, which she has promised to do the second she is given the oath of office. Three Republicans, Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have signed on to the petition.
Unless the Trump administration persuades one of them to remove their signature, Grijalva is the key to bringing the bill to the floor.
Johnson said during the GOP’s leadership press conference on Tuesday that Republicans are “working around the clock” to make sure justice is served for the victims of Epstein. He said “credible information” will be released to the public as the Oversight Committee continues its investigation, but Massie, a consistent thorn in Johnson’s side, has urged the release of all the information and documents pertaining to the late and disgraced financier.
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The speaker once again brought up on Tuesday that the victims’ identities must be protected, his main pushback against Massie’s discharge petition. Though the Epstein Files Transparency Act already does allow for redaction and withholding of personal information related to the victims.
“They seem to be more interested in trying somehow to lay a glove on the president than in securing justice for these victims,” Johnson said of the petition signatories.