The Battle over Swearing-In New House Member
To date, Speaker Johnson has refused to swear-in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva (D), who won an Arizona special election held on September 23. Johnson says that he will not swear her in until the House is back in session. Democrats note that earlier this year, the Speaker swore in two Republicans who won special elections during House pro forma sessions regularly held when Members are out of town. They accuse him of delaying now because Grijalva will provide the decisive 218th vote on a resolution to force the Department of Justice to make the Epstein files public. The Arizona Attorney General has threatened to file a lawsuit seeking judicial relief.