PHOENIX - Several weeks after winning a special election, Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the nation's capitol.
Grijalva, a Democrat, was elected on Sept. 23 to fill her late father's seat to represent Arizona's 7th Congressional District.
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What they're saying:
Moments after her swearing-in on the House floor, Grivalva said, "While we celebrate this moment today, our American promise is under serious threat. Basic freedoms are under attack. Health care premiums are skyrocketing, babies are being ripped away from their parents by masked agents. We can and must do better. What is most concerning is not what this administration has done, but what the majority in this body has failed to do: hold Trump accountable as a co-equal branch of government that we are."
After Grijalva took the oath, House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "I really like this lady. She's going to be an excellent member of Congress. She's a great person."
He went on to say that he served under her father on the natural resources committee, he's happy to have her in the House, and commented on the delay of her swearing in.
"I just told her on the way in that she fills her father's shoes, or she's going to try. No one can. He was a giant around here. Served a long time, served his state very well. I served under him in the natural resources committee for a while, and admired the way he did the work he was doing. He was tenacious. So, she has a proud family legacy and we're delighted to have her here. She may not agree with me, but we found follow the custom of the House, on a timetable. We've had a little, as we say in the deep south, ‘some intense fellowship about that,' but she's here now, and I promised we would have the oath administered before we began legislative business, so she hasn't missed a vote. We're delighted you're here," Johnson said.
The backstory:
Arizona Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly addressed the Senate floor last week, blaming House Speaker Mike Johnson for the delay in Grijalva's swearing-in. They claimed that the delay is to prevent Grijalva from providing the final signature needed on a petition to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Johnson has said that Grijalva would not be sworn in until the federal government reopens, which could come Wednesday when the House votes on a bill to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Arizona AG, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva sue over delay of swearing in
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva filed a lawsuit against the U.S. House of Representatives, aiming to compel Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Grijalva, who was elected on Sept. 23.
RELATED: Adelita Grijalva sets record for swearing-in delay
Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., participates in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' news conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from previous FOX 10 reports on Nov. 12 and 6, 2025.