by Emily Singer
Daily Kos StaffFollowView Profile
Monday, October 06, 2025 (DailyKos.com)
It’s been two weeks since Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva won a special election for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, defeating her Republican opponent in a landslide that dwarfed the 22-point margin Democrats won the seat by in 2024.
But Speaker Mike Johnson still hasn’t sworn Grijalva into the seat, which became vacant in March when her father died of complications from cancer.
And GOP lawmakers are now admitting Johnson is slow-walking Grijalva’s swearing in because of the Epstein files.
Once she’s sworn in, Grijalva will be the final signature on the petition that would force Johnson to hold a vote on a bipartisan bill that would compel the Trump administration to release the files it possesses on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. If the bill came up for a vote before the full House, it would likely pass—embarrassing Johnson’s Dear Leader Donald Trump, who wants to keep the files secret likely because his name has been confirmed to be littered throughout the documents.
“Contrary to what he says, @SpeakerJohnson is doing everything he can, including delaying the swearing in of the most recently elected member of Congress and spreading misinformation about the legislation, to block a vote in Congress on legislation to release the Epstein files,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who co-sponsored legislation, wrote Monday in a post on X.
Massie was responding to an interview Johnson gave to MSNBC, in which Johnson claimed that he was “for maximum disclosure” but that the government doesn’t want to release the files to “protect the innocent victims” who Epstein abused.
Of course, the legislation that would force the Epstein files to be released specifically says that information that would identify victims would be redacted—so Johnson’s claim is a red herring.
Grijalva, for her part, has been demanding that Johnson swear her in so she can get to work for her constituents—who have been without congressional representation since her father died on March 13.
“The people of Southern Arizona deserve representation and I’m ready to get to work. Swear me in NOW @SpeakerJohnson!” Grijalva wrote Monday in a post on X.
Johnson, for his part, claims he can’t swear Grijalva in because Congress isn’t in session.
But that, too, is an absurd lie, as back in April Johnson swore in two GOP lawmakers the day after they won special elections in Florida— even though Congress was in recess at the time.
Even more absurd is the fact that the House isn’t in session right now, given that the government is shut down and only Congress has the power to pass funding legislation that would reopen it.
In fact, Johnson announced on Thursday that Congress will be out on recess until Oct. 13.
Massie is hammering Johnson for not calling Congress into session.
“The government is shut down, but the House refuses to go back in session. Why are we in recess? Because the day we go back into session, I have 218 votes for the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files,” Massie wrote in a post on X on Sunday night. “@SpeakerJohnson doesn’t want that to be the news.”
But ultimately, no matter how much Johnson tries to delay Grijalva’s swearing in, the fact is that she will be seated in the coming days. And then Johnson will have a mess on his hands as he tries to stop the Epstein files legislation from passing.
Why not rip off the Band-Aid now, Mister Speaker?
