Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sent a demand letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday, calling for the immediate swearing in of Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva following her special election win last month.
“It’s way past time for Mike Johnson to stop the political games and seat Adelita without delay,” Mayes said in a statement. “We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to hold him accountable and make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona’s newest member of Congress.”
Grijalva won the election for Arizona’s seventh congressional district with 70% of the vote, filling the seat left empty by her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva. While other candidates elected recently in special elections were sworn in the same week their election certifications were issued, Grijalva remains in limbo.
In particular, Mayes took issue with Johnson’s excuses for delaying Grijalva’s swearing in.
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“You and your staff have provided ever-shifting, unsatisfactory, and sometimes absurd stories as to why Ms. Grijalva has not been sworn in,” Mayes’ letter said.
The congresswoman-elect thanked Mayes for the letter Tuesday, telling NOTUS that the constituents of her district are effectively being taxed without representation.
Grijalva also said that just this week she was given the keys to her office — though nothing in it worked when she first visited.
“I just got keys, but there the phone lines aren’t working,” she said. “There is no internet, no computers. It’s just a space.”
Johnson, who initially said Grijalva could be sworn in “as soon as she wants,” later clarified she would not be sworn in until the federal government shutdown ends. Johnson has remained adamant that “ceremonial duty” requires Congress be in session for Grijalva’s swearing in despite the fact that the House still meets for “pro forma” sessions, which were used to swear in a pair of Florida Republicans who won special elections earlier this year.
“We will swear in Rep.-Elect Grijalva as soon as the House returns to session when Chuck Schumer, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego decide to open up the government,” a leadership aide for Johnson said last week.
Grijalva’s special election was certified Tuesday. Gov. Katie Hobbs said the certification left no reason for her swearing in to be postponed any longer.
“Further delay undermines the will of Arizona voters,” Hobbs posted on X. “Speaker Johnson should swear @AdelitaForAZ in now and honor our democracy.”
Mayes’ letter to Johnson asks for assurances around the details of Grijalva’s swearing in within two days, “which must be immediate and prior to the date the House comes back into regular session.”
“Should you fail to provide such assurance, we will be forced to seek judicial relief to protect Arizona and the residents of its Seventh Congressional District,” Mayes concluded.
Democrats in the House have criticized Johnson for postponing Grijalva’s swearing in, calling it an effort to delay a floor vote on the release of all materials related to Jeffrey Epstein. Grijalva, who has declared her intentions to sign Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna’s discharge petition, would be Democrats’ final member needed to force the vote.
“Republicans are playing political games delaying my swearing in and blocking me from taking office,” Grijalva said in a video posted on X last week. “This is about the people of Arizona’s 7th congressional district who are being left without representation all to protect Trump while silencing the voices in our community.”
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