Arizona AG, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva sue over delay of swearing in
Lawsuit filed to force Grijalva swearing-in
The Arizona attorney general & Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. House, seeking to compel Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Grijalva, who won a Sept. 23 special election. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas has the details.
PHOENIX - The Arizona Attorney General and Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the U.S. House of Representatives, attempting to force the hand of House Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Grijalva.
What we know:
Adelita Grijalva was elected on Sept. 23 to represent Arizona's 7th District, the seat previously held by her late father, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva. She will serve the remaining 15 months of his term.
"Speaker Mike Johnson is actively stripping the people of Arizona of one of their seats in Congress and disenfranchising the voters of Arizona’s seventh Congressional district in the process," Attorney General Kris Mayes said on Oct. 21. "By blocking Adelita Grijalva from taking her rightful oath of office, he is subjecting Arizona’s seventh Congressional district to taxation without representation. I will not allow Arizonans to be silenced or treated as second-class citizens in their own democracy."
The timeline for swearing in Adelita has changed three times. Speaker Johnson's reasons have progressed from waiting for official results to waiting for Congress to be back in session, and now, to waiting for the government to reopen.
"Republicans on vacation for four weeks and one of the consequences of that is that Republicans have refused now for four consecutive weeks, to swear in representative elect Adelita Grijalva," said Minority Leader of the U.S House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva (Photos: Getty Images)
Grijalva's statement
"Speaker Johnson’s obstruction has gone far beyond petty partisan politics – it’s an unlawful breach of our Constitution and the democratic process. The voters of Southern Arizona made their choice, yet for four weeks, he has refused to seat a duly elected Member of Congress – denying Southern Arizona its constitutional representation," Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva said. "I’m proud to join Attorney General Mayes in standing up for the more than 800,000 Arizonans who have been stripped of their voice in Congress. Speaker Johnson cannot continue to disenfranchise an entire district and suppress their representation to shield this administration from accountability and block justice for the Epstein survivors."
Responding to the lawsuit, Speaker Johnson called the case "patently absurd." The House speaker was quoted by The Associated Press as saying, "Good luck with that."
Click here to view the lawsuit.
Dig deeper:
Adelita Grijalva, AG Mayes fight back against Johnson's swearing-in delay
AZ AG Kris Mayes & Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva sued the U.S. House to compel Speaker Johnson to seat Grijalva. They argue Johnson's shifting reasons are illegally denying AZ-07 a voice in Congress. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas reports.
Senator Ruben Gallego commented on the lawsuit via X, directly linking Speaker Johnson's obstruction to the delayed release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Gallego said, "@AZAGMayes isn’t playing around. She just filed a lawsuit against pedo protector Mike! Maybe now he’ll stop covering for predators and start giving the people of AZ-07 a voice in Congress."
The controversy stems from the fact that Grijalva’s swearing-in would provide the House of Representatives with the necessary final vote to compel the Justice Department to release its complete files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaker Johnson said on Oct. 17, "She has nothing whatsoever to do with what's happening in Congress. Rep. Elect Grijalva is being congratulated for winning her late father's seat. We love that. We're going to administer the oath to her as soon as we can get back to our regular legislative session, as I've said a thousand times."